Twisting Paths
by musicalreader
Summary: Follow Arnold and Helga through the course of their adventures in San Lorenzo, the jungles of High School, drama and death in almost every chapter  usually drama , and the emotional track of their own feelings. currently in the High School timeline. M R
1. Chapter 1

Twisting Paths

Part 1 in a multi-year saga

Arnold turned around to see his grandparents one last time before boarding the airplane with the rest of his fifth grade class.

"Remember Kimba!" his grandma shouted, using her pet name for him whenever she hunted flies with a flyswatter, "There are nasty predators out there! Be safe!"

"And stay away from the berries! They may look tasty, but you'll have the runs for a week!" his grandpa yelled, waving as his grandson walked down the jetway.

Arnold tried not to smile too much as he boarded the plane that would take him and his classmates to the one place he had dreamed of visiting ever since finding his dad's diary almost two years ago.

"Can you believe it man?" his best friend Gerald asked, "We're on our WAY! Man, I've been counting down the days ever since we heard the news from Wartz…"

Yeah…" Arnold replied, looking out the window at the last rays of sunlight as they disappeared over the city skyline. Soon, his plan would be put into action, and he'd finally have the one thing he'd always wanted… his parents back with him. He pictured their reunion and their return home and slowly drifted off to sleep with nothing but hopeful thoughts and dreams awaiting him in his mind.

**Three weeks earlier**

"_Attention Students!" _ The PA system announced early Monday morning, Principal Wartz's voice actually sounding happy for once, "_In light of recent events in the community, the state has given PS 118 the opportunity to send 30 students on a once in a lifetime trip outside the country. The destination and those allowed to go will be decided by an essay contest. Each classroom will select one young writer to submit their essay to me by noon on Friday, and the winner's class will be allowed to choose any destination in the world to travel to for two weeks time. Please see your teacher if you have any questions… that is all."_

Gerald poked his friend awake with the sharp end of his pencil, "Dude! Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Arnold asked, shaking off the remnants of a dream where he was on top of a building, the very same rooftop he had been on not three months ago with the girl who had tormented him for years.

"Wartz just said that if one of us can write a good enough essay, we can get a trip to anywhere in the world!" Gerald exclaimed, almost being drowned out by the rest of the class talking about where they would go.

"He did?" Arnold asked, suddenly wide awake, "what did he say we had to write about?"

"We'll have to ask Simmons that…" Gerald said, smiling and raising his hand while their teacher tried to get a grip on his class's sudden outburst.

"Settle down everyone settle down… I know you're all really excited about the contest, but we still have a week to pick a very special entrant from this wonderful group… now if you could all please, quiet down and I'll tell you what you'll have to write about."

When news filtered through the students that he would tell them more, everyone suddenly became mute, practically falling out of their seats with barely contained euphoria.

"Thank you… now, the rules Principal Wartz handed to the teachers this morning said that our class can choose one participant by way of a vote, you cannot vote for yourself, and the topic is where you would take the class and why. Fairly straightforward, and now that you're all in the fifth grade, I expect an even better caliber of writing than you were already handing in. Now, if nobody minds, I'll give you all today and tomorrow to write your essays and we'll vote on them on Wednesday… is that alright with everyone?"

The entire class shouted their consent, and with that, pencils and pens practically materialized in their hands, paper was shuffled out in a hurry, and almost everyone's head was down as they wrote about their dream trip to exotic destinations and adventure in a foreign land. One student in particular was blazing along at an incredible speed, her pen flying over the paper, each stroke flowing smoothly into the next with no breaks, as if she had memorized where she wanted to go.

Helga sighed and put her pen down after having filled up three pages of paper front and back in a matter of twenty minutes. She looked just in front of her and to the left at the back of the boy she had loved since she was three years old. Her eyes misted over and she imagined the two of them in Paris France, on top of the Eiffel Tower, overlooking the architecture and the people below, a city of lovers and dreamers, walking below unaware of the fiery passion that burned high above their heads. She would get Arnold alone, and this time, instead of blowing her feelings off as a moment of weakness or something that happened _in the heat of the moment_, she would show him how she really felt… and he would tell her that he had always felt the same way about her… it would be perfect…

"Helga…" her friend Phoebe said, dragging her out of her daydream.

"What is it Pheebs?" Helga hissed back, a little miffed at having been shaken out of her favorite fantasy.

"I was just curious as to where you suggested we go for the trip… I chose Kyoto Japan…"

"Oh… I said Paris." She replied bluntly

"Really? Wow… but would you like it very much Helga? I mean… there's a lot of culture in France… and a lot of art all around the cityscape… would you enjoy it?"

"Hey! Are you trying to say that I can't appreciate the finer things in life?" Helga asked, rolling up a spitwad and blowing it squarely into the back of Arnolds head, just below his signature hat.

"N-no Helga…it's just that it's not something that I would expect from you is all…" Phoebe squeaked out, blushing slightly at the unintended insult

"People can surprise you, you know?" Helga replied, going back to work perfecting her already impressive piece of literary work.

Two rows up, Gerald and Arnold were scribbling away, lost in their own thoughts. Gerald was picturing himself standing at the base of the pyramids in Egypt. Maybe he would discover a tomb no one had ever thought existed? He'd be famous… and the treasure!

Arnold sat next to his daydreaming friend and tried to find a way to figure out how he could get his essay chosen. This could very well be the one time in his life that he would be able to look for his parents… but if he wrote that he wanted to go to San Lorenzo just to look for them, he was certain that it would get shot down in a heartbeat. He had to think of something that would appeal to the kids, and that would get Wartz's approval. He stared at the paper in front of him thinking of possible reasons for his seemingly random choice, then it hit him… in his dad's diary, he had mentioned that few outsiders had ever set foot in the jungles of San Lorenzo, and that there were still secrets in the dense jungle… if he could just phrase it all perfectly, he was sure that everyone would agree and he would get chosen by Wartz…

The next day, the same silence fell over the class as people continued writing, rereading, and crumpling up their work. Arnold had stayed up all night, but he had finally figured out what to write…

_**The ancient land of San Lorenzo is home to one of the world's best kept secrets… few have seen it's native inhabitants, and fewer have returned to tell about it. The mighty forest, which goes on for what can feel like eternity, is the dwelling place of some of the most ancient and unknown temples, some still yet to be found… But the most incredible facet of this seemingly random spot on the globe, is that it is home to a people who almost died out not even a decade ago. My parents, doctors of medicine and anthropology, met these elusive Green Eyed people in their hour of need, rescued their sacred icon, La Corazon, and healed them of the deadly sleeping sickness. As a reward, the Green Eyes welcomed them as members of their tribe, and they saw things that no other person in recorded history has yet to see. **_

_**They found a temple, deep in the jungle, at the base of a volcano, and it was there that I was born. According to the only record my dad left, his old journal, I was born during a volcanic eruption, and my first cry silenced all of nature, even stopping the lava from devouring the temple that they had taken refuge in… To me, San Lorenzo is not just another spot on the map, it is so much more than a name and a mystery. It holds secrets that I believe can be uncovered if those brave enough will venture into it, and it holds very personal meaning to me as well… I was born there, and I wish just for once in my life, that I could see it again. I have no doubt that if we go, we will not only uncover another piece of history, like my parents before me, but that in the process, we will set a new path where others have only dared to dream of. That is where I think we should go, and I believe that you will see it the same way as I do, as the adventure of a lifetime…**_

When Arnold finished reading his essay to the class on Wednesday, every jaw was open and every eye was trained on Arnold as if he were a ghost.

"D-did that really happen when you were born?" Harold asked from the back, "the volcano and everything?"

"Class… It's none of our business whether or not anything is actually true, the point is, do we think that Arnolds writing is good enough to get us that trip…" Mr. Simmons asked, looking around at the still stunned faces of his fifth grade class.

Helga stood up from her seat, and shocked the class when she spoke, "I think that Arnold's essay is the best in the whole class… better than mine, and better than anything anyone else could come up with in this school. There will be tons of kids saying they want to go to Europe, or Asia, or even the North Pole, but I seriously doubt that anyone could give as good a reason as what he wrote…" when she was finished speaking, she sat down in her desk and started tearing up small pieces of paper as if nothing odd had happened at all.

"Well then… if no one has any objections, I think we should make Arnold our representative…" Simmons suggested, smiling and putting a hand on Arnolds shoulder, his student looking up at him and beaming.

The following Monday, The intercom buzzed to life again, but this time, everyone was quiet, waiting to see who would win the trip…

_Attention students… this is Principal Wartz here, I will now announce the winner of the essay contest, but before I do, there are a few announcements…_

"Get on with it!" Helga yelled, everyone in the room anxious and annoyed by Wartz's stupid sense of timing. They muttered and yelled at the P.A. system for a good five minutes before he finally got to the good part.

_I am happy to announce, that the winner and his class will be leaving in one month's time, and that the essay I selected was an especially well written one with lots of emotion. So without further ado… give a big hand for the winner… WOLFGANG!_

You could hear a pin drop in the classroom… everyone was upset about the outcome, but none more so than Arnold… his last chance for who knew how long to find his family… gone…

The rest of the day, Mr. Simmons tried to keep class going like normal, but the mood in the room was too much for even his constantly cheery attitude. Finally, recess came and everyone left except for Arnold, who hadn't moved since the announcement.

When school was over, he was forced to stand up and walk home by his friend Gerald, but when he got back to the boarding house, he went straight to his room and lay on top of his bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what could possibly make this day worse…

The next day, after his grandpa calling him in sick, Arnold sat on his couch, staring at the bulletin board covered in any shred of a clue he had as to his parents last trip.

"I'm sorry Mom… sorry Dad… I won't be able to come find you… not yet…" he said to the empty room. Suddenly, his door cracked open and his Grandma poked her head in.

"Say there Tex, why the long face?" she asked, stepping inside and sitting beside him.

"It's nothing Grandma… I just want to be alone…" he replied, closing his eyes and fighting back tears.

"Well that sure is an odd thing to say… especially when you consider that all your ranch hands are here to see you." Grandma said, standing up and opening the door to his room.

"Ranch hands? Grandma.. now really isn't the time…" but before he could finish saying what he thought of his eccentric grandmothers cowboy fantasy, his entire class rushed in shouting and smiling.

"Arnold! Arnold! You'll never believe it man!" Gerald yelled, pushing to the front of the crowd, his smile as wide as his face.

"What?" he asked, trying to figure out what could have happened to make everyone in his class show up at his house while school was still in session.

"Wolfgang… his essay was plagiarized!" Phoebe squealed, hopping up and down, looking like she was about to burst.

"Plagiarized? So who gets the trip now?" he asked, hoping that the answer was what he thought it was.

"We do man! You were the runner up! And there's no WAY anyone could accuse you of copying that story man… WE GET TO GO TO SAN LORENZO!" Gerald practically yelled, the whole class cheering as Arnold processed everything, the words being too good to be true… he would have his chance after all!

The plane jarred Arnold awake, and when he looked out the window, it was pitch black out. The only thing visible was the moon, much larger than he had ever seen. He looked around, and there were only a couple of people still awake besides himself. He got up to go to the bathroom and stretch his legs, but tripped over Gerald's legs and ended up sprawled across the aisle, his torso landing in the lap of none other than Helga G. Pataki.

She jumped and her eyes flew open, looking around in confusion, she finally noticed his chest on top of her legs and she looked at him stunned. "A-Arnold… what are you…" she began to say, her face starting to smile for only a moment before changing to her usual scowl and sneer. "What do you think you're doing Arnoldo? Get the heck off me you creepy little fruitcup!" She practically yelled, pushing him roughly off her and onto the floor, her foot rising slightly to land firmly in his lower ribs.

Arnold got up shakily, still a little numb from his nap, and now sore on his entire left side thanks to Helga, "I was just trying to get out of my seat Helga… sorry about landing on you… go back to sleep." He said, fumbling his hands along the backrests as he worked his way to the back of the plane.

As soon as he was out of sight, she sighed and silently swore at herself for treating Arnold like that. She pulled out her locket and stared at the picture of her football headed Adonis, "Why must I treat you so poorly my love?" she asked, "You who do nothing for yourself without it being for everyone to share in. Your selfless nature is such easy prey to the savage mask I wear to conceal my feelings for you… even now, after already telling you how I feel, I still cannot admit to myself just how much you mean to me… why must we dance this accursed dance of hatred hiding love, your innocence being slowly devoured by my horrible and wicked public face when all I want, in my heart of hearts, is to hold you in my arms and feel your lips on my own?"

"Helga?" Phoebe mumbled half asleep, but still making her friend jump in her seat, "can you please give the self loathing poetry a rest until we land?"

Helga quickly put the locket away and tried to go back to sleep, her mind still processing the image of the boy she loved spread across her lap, as if dropped from the heavens…

When the plane landed roughly five hours later, it was dawn over the land of San Lorenzo, and everyone grabbed their bags in a sleepy daze only to board another plane that would take them to the very spot Arnold had picked on the map… the same spot that was marked in his dad's diary.

**Thank you for reading my first piece of work in months… I'm still working the cobwebs out, but I hope I have you interested enough in what comes next to read the next chapter. This was just the prologue really for everything to come. I have no idea how many chapters I will write, or how long it will take, but I will try and finish this story as fast as I can and as well as I can. and if you're smug and think you know what's going to happen next… don't count on it… please leave a review and tell me any points you would like to make, if you have any questions or comments that you feel would not do well on the reviews page, please feel free to PM me whenever you want.**

**Happy Living,**

**musicalreader ****XIII**


	2. Chapter 2

Twisting Paths

Part 2

They had been flying for the last two hours, circling the dense jungle of San Lorenzo as dusk fell, trying to find the old airstrip that the pilot said used to be there. Everyone was crammed into the small space normally used for carrying supplies, but had been recently refitted to accommodate people.

"If we don't find this darn landing site soon Mr. Simmons, I will personally call this trip off and send us back home…" Principal Wartz warned, having tagged along under the guise of keeping the class on their best manners.

No sooner was the threat made than the pilot shouted back that he had just seen the very site he remembered, situated next to a winding river about 100 yards wide at its narrowest point, and roughly three miles upstream from a waterfall that dropped into the heart of the jungle.

"Okay class!" Mr. Simmons called out over roar of the engines and the chatter of Arnold's classmates and a small group of parents, "I want everyone to pair up with a buddy. You are not to leave their side for the remainder of the trip, and when you have your buddy, the two of you come up to me and get your walkie talkie… this will allow us to keep in touch if anyone gets lost while we're out here for the next two weeks. I'll explain the other rules when we get off the plane, just make sure to stay in sight until we set up camp okay?"

The class nodded in agreement and there was a small rush of movement as buddies were selected. There were the obvious pairings, Arnold and Gerald, Rhonda and Nadine, Sheena and Eugene, and of course, Phoebe and Helga. But the rest of the class seemed to have just picked whoever they were sitting next to, Harold was paired with Brainy, Curly and Stinky were sticking close to each other, and Sid was hanging onto Lorenzo's shoulders for dear life. When they finally touched down, everyone filed off the plane, lugging their bags and complaining about the rain that was gently falling in a light shower. Wartz and Simmons did their best to keep order and told the pilot that they would check in with a status report every evening until the scheduled pickup date. When the prop plane took off again, leaving the students and chaperones in the middle of nowhere, Simmons and Wartz went over the rest of the rules for the trip.

"I want everyone to know that this trip is a very dangerous one if we don't stick together and follow the proper safety protocols… first of all, I cannot stress enough how important it is to travel in groups. This isn't the city, where help is a short walk away, we're a team out here, and the first few days we'll go over general first aid stuff. And now, I think that Principal Wartz has a few things to say…"

"Thank you Mr. Simmons; as you all know, on this trip, we'll be exploring some very treacherous paths in the forest. There are all kinds of snakes and spiders and other creepy crawlies out here, and if anyone is bitten by anything, I want them to report immediately to an adult. Adults, you will all be asked to carry a first aid kit specifically for the local plant and animal life at all times… now if the students could line up, Mr. Simmons and I will divide the tents among you and adults, please help anyone who needs assistance in setting up their tent."

Gerald and Arnold set up their tent in record time thanks to Grandpa's camping weekends. When they were done, Arnold pulled out a copy of his dad's map, comparing it to the one that was handed out to everyone by the pilot. He noted that they were only about five miles from the site marked on his dad's map and he was so excited, he decided to show Gerald.

"No way man… there's no way I'm going into that jungle… who knows what's out there?" Gerald said when his friend showed him the maps.

"Gerald… this trip is the one chance I have to find out what happened. Even if we get lost, we have the walkie talkies, and we know how to survive in the woods… look, we're right next to the spot my dad marked. All we have to do is go out for a little night hike, and we'll be back before anyone realized we're gone."

Gerald sighed deeply and looked his friend square in the eye, "And what if, and this doesn't mean I'm agreeing to go with you, we do this, and we end up like your parents? Either we'd be dead or lost forever…"

He knew it was a low blow, to suggest that his friends parents weren't even alive anymore, but he had to see how Arnold could react.

"If we get to this spot, and we can't find anything… or we do find them… we can radio for the group to find us… we'll leave markers on the trail, and unlike my parents, we have more people than just the two of us out here… so what do you say Gerald? Can I count on you?" Arnold responded, holding out his hand, a determined look across his usually calm face.

Gerald hesitated for a minute… then groaned and took his friends hand, "Alright… but so help me Arnold, if we die, I'll never let you hear the end of it."

They laughed and started to make preparations, emptying their packs of everything except what they would need. After that, they waited for nightfall…

"Hurry up Phoebe!" Helga barked, "I'm getting soaked out here!"

"Hurrying!" Phoebe replied, setting the last pole in place so the tent could be slept in at last. It would have gone up sooner, but Helga decided that her efforts were better put towards reading the latest wrestling magazine. "You could have helped you know…" she muttered as Helga threw her own bag inside, leaving Phoebe's sitting in a small puddle.

"I heard that Pheebs." Helga replied, "But I don't know the first thing about setting up a tent, and you've at least gone camping before…"

"Yes, with you and Bob in the RV." Phoebe retorted, setting out her sleeping bag and her clothes for the next day, "I was just as clueless."

"But you did a great job of it." Helga said, trying to compliment her friend, but the words coming out as combative nevertheless.

"Well… thank you Helga… let's get some sleep now ok? Even though we slept on the way over, the jetlag is killing me."

"Sure Pheebs, you go to sleep… I'm going to stay up a little bit longer and do some writing." Helga agreed, turning the lamp in the tent down so that it was just enough to see by, pulling out her pink journal and locket, she looked into Arnold's soft jade eyes and began to write…

_**Why am I drawn to you, O Prince of my heart?**_

_**Is it your kind gentle nature?**_

_**Or is it a part**_

_**Of your soul that draws me to you, as if in a dance,**_

_**where every step twists our path of romance…**_

_**I love you always, and hope you will see,**_

_**the person I am, and who I could be…**_

A twig snapping outside the tent jerked Helga out of her reverie. She turned the lamp off and peeked out of the tent flap only to see a familiar football shaped silhouette, framed against the remains of a fire the adults had built before going to their respective tents. She thought about it for a second, then shook her friend awake, clamping a hand over her mouth so she didn't make a sound.

"Get up Phoebe," she instructed quietly, turning on the lantern slightly and looking for her shoes and jacket, "I just saw Arnold and Gerald sneaking around outside… we're gonna follow them."

"Do you really think that's such a good idea Helga?" Phoebe questioned, sitting up and putting her glasses on, "What if they're just going to the bathroom?"

"Who the heck goes to the bathroom with backpacks?" she answered, handing her friend an extra jacket in an attempt at speeding her along.

"Ugh… fine… but this better not get us in trouble…"

"We'll be fine… just follow me okay?" she ordered, opening the tent flaps and crouching slightly as she followed the dim shadows she knew to be two of her classmates.

Every step felt like it took an eternity as they followed Arnold and Gerald into the dense jungles of San Lorenzo… they had to be careful not to make too much noise or else they would be found out, and after the first half hour, even Phoebe couldn't say that they were looking for a place to do their business.

"What the heck are they doing?" Helga hissed, slamming her hand against a tree trunk about two hours away from camp. "Do they even know where they're going?"

"Helga! Shhhh…." Phoebe cautioned, trying to keep her friend calm.

"No Phoebe… I'm through following blindly. We're not the ones who snuck out of camp… I'm finding out where they're going right now!"

"Who's there?" Arnold called out, trailing his flashlight over the path behind Gerald and him, "I just heard you saying something… just come out."

"Arnold man, what if it's Wartz or Simmons? We could get in serious trouble!" Gerald cautioned.

"Oh you're gonna get in trouble alright!" Helga shouted, stepping into the light, scowling away at them like it was an ordinary school day.

"Helga?" Arnold asked incredulously, "What are you doing out here?"

"I was about to ask you two the same question… we've been following you for about two hours trying to see what was so dang important that it couldn't wait until morning!"

"We've?" Gerald asked, picking up on the subtle phrase, "Who did you drag along with… Phoebe's with you isn't she?" he guessed.

"Present." Phoebe said, stepping out from behind a tree about twenty feet away from the rest of the group.

"It's not roll call Phoebe, you don't have to say present…" Helga muttered sarcastically before turning back to the boys. "And what ARE you two doing?"

"It's none of your business Helga, just follow the path back to camp and we'll be back by dawn." Arnold said nonchalantly, turning to keep walking, "We're almost there anyway…" he said cryptically.

"Where?" Phoebe asked quietly, looking at Gerald. He had always had a soft spot for her.

"Arnold brought his dad's map and we're just going to check out this spot that was marked on it… no big deal."

"No big deal?" Helga exclaimed, running ahead of Arnold and blocking his path, "What if you guys end up lost… or worse?"

"That's not going to happen Helga." He said calmly, ducking under her arms and continuing, "but if it makes you feel any better, you can come along…"

"I will football head… and don't think that you can just ditch me!" Helga answered firmly, stomping after him, Gerald and Phoebe shaking their heads and walking side by side behind their friends.

The roaring of the river got louder as they drew nearer to the spot on the map, but the trail seemed to be leading them straight for the river banks… when they ran out of land and saw that the mark was actually another mile downstream, they stopped and sat on some exposed roots overhanging the water.

"Great job Arnoldo… now we're lost, your map is crud, and we're about an hour from sunrise when everyone will see that we're not there! Any more smart ideas football head?"

"I hate to say it man… but I think that Helga might be right about this…" Gerald admitted, resting his head in his hands, staring at the water flowing just a few feet below.

"No… this can't be right… there must be something I missed… it can't end here…" Arnold said, sinking to his knees and poring over the map for what must have been the millionth time.

"Maybe we should try and get back to the group Arnold… we can try and look for your parents later on in the trip.. we have a full two weeks out here." Phoebe suggested, resting her hand on Arnolds shoulder, trying to comfort her friend.

They sat in silence for a while longer, the only noise being the noises of the jungle and the rush of the river. Finally, Arnold stood up and nodded his head in defeat. "Okay, let's head back…" he said sadly, turning the flashlight back to the path. As they walked, he began to feel like they were being watched. He stopped them about five minutes down the trail.

"What is it now football head?" Helga snapped, stepping in front of the light to glare at him pointedly, "Is there some big emergency that you just HAD to stop?"

As she stood in front of the light, she saw her friends jaws drop and looks of horror pass over them. "What is it?" she asked, afraid of the answer, turning to see what they were gaping at. When she turned, she was about ten feet away from the biggest, blackest cat she had ever seen. Without a second thought, she let out an piercing scream and pushed the others away, all four simultaneously breaking into a run. The Jaguar let out a snarl and followed after the intruders who had interrupted his hunt.

"Great job football head!" Helga yelled as they ran, "Now we have a lion chasing after us!"

"That's not a lion Helga! It's worse! That's a jaguar!" Arnold yelled back, trying not to fall behind, his heart beating a tattoo inside his ribs.

"Who cares what it is! Just RUN!" Gerald yelled, flying past Helga and Arnold, dragging Phoebe along as well.

They ran as far as the river bank, the only thing that had kept the giant predator from catching them so far had been the flashlight blinding it a few times as they ran. But it was quickly closing the gap, there was only one option left to them…

"Jump!" Arnold yelled, grabbing Gerald and Helga's shoulders and pulling them after him as he dove into the river's current, Phoebe falling in because of the grip Gerald still had on her wrist. Luckily, Arnold's plan had worked, and they all bobbed to the surface in time to see the jaguar stop at the riverbank and snarl it's frustration before turning to walk the other way.

"Good idea man…" Gerald gasped, sucking in air, "now how do we get back to shore?"

"Uhhhhhh…" was all Arnold could manage, he hadn't thought through to that part.

"Nice work Arnoldo… now we go from one certain death to another!" Helga screamed hysterically.

"Guys?" Phoebe chimed in, "not to sound clichéd… but does anyone else hear a waterfall?"

They all turned downstream to see none other than a narrowing of the river and a sudden drop. The current quickened around them and they were shot down stream faster than anyone could have guessed, their screams of terror drowned out by the roar of the water…

Meanwhile, back at base camp, Mr. Simmons was going around to the tents to wake the kids up. He called out for everyone to get up and get dressed, answered by groans and complaints of _five more minutes_ until he got to the two tents at the back of the group.

"Helga! Phoebe! Gerald! Arnold! Rise and shine!" he said in his usually sunny manner, "It's another very special day and you don't want to miss a bit of it!"

When he got no response, he frowned slightly and warned that if he didn't hear something within the next minute, he would poke his head in and make them get up. When silence greeted him, he grew worried and opened the tent flaps.

"Oh no… nonono… this can't be happening…" he mumbled, running to Principal Wartz shouting, "We have four kids missing! Get everyone gathered up and radio the plane!"

_**Oooohhh… am I mean to leave you hanging like that? The main characters plummeting to their certain doom, the adults in a panic… hopefully your nails are still attached and the end of your seat isn't breaking out from under you… look for the next installment, coming soon. In the mean time, why not let me know what you thought of this chapter? Drop me a review or a PM and I'll definitely respond.**_

_**Happy Living,**_

_**Musicalreader XIII**_


	3. Chapter 3

Twisting Paths

Part 3

They were going to die…

That was the only thought coursing through Helga's mind as she fell alongside her best friend, the one boy she loved more than life itself, and some other person…

"Arnold!" she yelled as they descended rapidly over the edge, "I want you to know I lo-" but the rest of her confession was lost as they hit something solid that slowed them down without hurting them.

They rolled down what felt like a ramp made out of rope only to pass through the waterfall to the other side and into a lit cave. The change was so sudden, that everyone just lay there on the rock floor without questioning why they were even alive. Finally, Helga sat up and looked around. Instead of the cave being abandoned like she had assumed, she found herself staring into a pair of green eyes almost exactly like Arnold's. When she finally manages to look away from the eyes, she saw that they were attached to an extremely tanned man dressed in coarse fabric that looked hundreds of years old. She almost let out a scream… again… but the man put one finger on his lips and motioned towards her friends, still lying around her in shock. She followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at Arnold.

"Arnold…" she hissed, shaking his arm and pulling him up, "this guy wants to talk to you…"

"Huh?" he grunted, still numb from falling over a waterfall, "who… what the…" he asked, his jaw dropping when he found himself staring at none other than a real live Green Eye tribesmen.

"What is it man?" Gerald asked numbly, sitting up, his eyes bugging out when he saw the man standing just a foot away staring at all of them in turn. "Phoebe… get up... please…"

The native walked around Helga and Gerald to kneel in front of Arnold, looking him in the eyes and then helping him stand. Arnold went along with him as if in a trance. Here in front of him was proof that his parents had helped save their people! He wanted to ask if the man had seen Miles and Stella, but he wasn't sure if he even understood English. As for the Green Eye in question, he offered no clue as to his linguistic capabilities, merely motioning for the group to follow him deeper into the cave. The kids stood up and followed, afraid of what would happen if they failed to do so. They walked in silence for about five minutes before reaching a ladder at the back of the cave leading upwards towards the surface. They climbed shakily, afraid of the seemingly rotting wood that composed the steps, and emerged not on the other side of the river as they had expected, but in a part of the jungle that you couldn't see from the air. Roughly two hundred yards away, a step pyramid rose in the distance, covered in greenery and the area around it a hollow spot under the canopy overhead, Arnold looked and saw that the natural camouflage was done on purpose, the upper branches of the trees suspended on top of wooden poles reaching high overhead. This was how no one could ever find the village… why no one ever saw any sign of their existence even in the modern age of planes and satellites…

"Gerald… are you seeing this too?" Arnold asked shakily, breaking the silence.

"Yeah man… I see it… but do you see them?" he responded, pointing towards the base of the pyramid at a group of villagers who looked similar to the one guiding them forward.

"Oh man… we're going to be sacrificed aren't we?" Helga asked hysterically, holding onto Phoebe for dear life, "They're going to take us to the top and gut us for a human sacrifice!"

"Calm down Helga… the Green Eyes are a peaceful people. I'm sure they just want to help us…" Arnold said, assuaging her fears for the time being, all the while hoping that his assumption was correct.

Sure enough, as they approached the cluster of villagers, who all looked like they had gathered there just for the occasion, an older tribesman emerged from the crowd, the rest of the villagers bowing their heads in respect. Arnold thought it best to follow their lead and told the others to follow his lead. The four kids bowed in respect before standing and seeing him kneeling in front of Arnold.

"Arnold… do you know this guy?" Gerald asked.

"No… I've never seen any of the Green Eye people before… my parents never even saw them face to face I don't think." He responded, looking over the elder and seeing the rest of the tribe kneeling towards him.

The one who had shown then to the village motioned for Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald to kneel as well, but when Arnold began to kneel, he started to speak in a rushed tone and definitely making motions for Arnold to remain standing. After a minute or two in almost silence, the tribe was muttering a beautiful stream of words he couldn't understand that sounded like a prayer, the tribe stood up and Arnold's friends stood behind him as if he were a shield. The tribe elder stood facing Arnold, smiled like he was a lost child who had found it's mother and spoke two words.

"Welcome home…"

"We're going home everyone!" Wartz announced. "Everyone pack their things in an orderly fashion and wait at the airstrip with your chaperones. Mr. Simmons! We need a plan to find these hooligans and see them safely returned to our care… any ideas?"

"Sir… I think I can see some tracks leading from their tents to the forest. Thank heavens there was rain yesterday and we can follow the mud trail…" Simmons reported, indicating a trail of footprints leading from the tents of the missing four.

"Excellent… we'll get help from the local police in the city when we get there and we'll come back with them to find the children. In the meantime, I want to know if anyone else out here knew what they were doing. I'll want to talk to each of their classmates in turn, so please escort Harold here first… we'll question them in turn and see what turns up."

"Do you really think that's wise sir? I mean… I honestly think that if anyone knew something, they would have gone with them or let us know beforehand… and you saw their faces when we told them that those four were missing. They're just as clueless as we are…"

"You make an excellent point Simmons… still… we should ask if they know anything at all."

The two trip leaders walked over to the group of children and asked if they knew anything that would make Arnold, Gerald, Helga, and Phoebe all go into the jungle alone.

"I reckon Arnold may have been looking for his parents." Stinky piped in after thinking for a bit, the class muttering agreement.

"What do you mean by that Mr. Peterson?" Wartz asked, "Arnold's parents have been missing for years… why would they be in a remote place like this jungle?"

"Well Principal Wartz… now that I think about it… Arnold did write something about his parents doing work out here in his essay… and I have heard him talking to his friend Gerald about a diary before… he said something about a map I think… but I just assumed they were playing at being explorers or something." Simmons chided in, suddenly feeling like an idiot.

"So you're telling me that we brought a child out here, on a school trip, just so he could run off and look for his parents in the most uninhabited place on the map!" Wartz yelled, finally losing his cool, "This is just perfect… Now what the hell are we supposed to do?"

"Language Principal Wartz… the children are still listening to you for the voice of guidance…"

"Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of little kid Simmons… I am NOT in the mood for your new age bullshit!"

While the adults were arguing amongst themselves, Sid, Stinky, Nadine, and Curly were whispering in hushed tones, coming up with their own plans…

"I'm telling you fellas, Arnold's gone to look for his parents, on account of the fact that Arnold thinks they're lost out here."

"Yeah Stinky… we get that… but what should we do about it?" Sid replied, rolling his eyes and looking around the small circle. "We can't just leave them… it's thanks to those four that we still have our homes…"

"I think we should follow them." Nadine suggested, "I'm really good at following trails, and I doubt they would have covered their tracks last night…"

"But how do we follow them without being stopped by the grown-ups?" Curly asked.

"Don't worry about them." Rhonda whispered, having eavesdropped on the group, "I'll make sure they're plenty focused on other things… I can work it so that everyone will cover for you guys while you go after them… just try and be back as soon as you can."

"Thanks Rhonda" Sid said, grinning at the rest of the circle, "Let's go you guys…"

"Shouldn't we bring some stuff in case we get lost?" Stinky asked, scratching his head.

"Don't worry about food and water." Nadine said, standing up and pretending to stretch, "I know enough wilderness survival stuff to where we won't need it. And we'll mark the trail in case they want to come after us."

"Then let's get a move on suckers!" Curly laughed, making a beeline back to camp to start at the trail's source, the tents…

"What did you just say?" Arnold asked… stunned not only by the fact that the Green Eye elder spoke English, but that he had welcomed him home…

"You were born here at this very temple." The elder said in broken English, "I do not speak much of your tongue… but I will show you what you must know Sacred One"

As the elder began to shuffle away towards the steps of the temple, the Green Eye who had shown then the village motioned for the four of them to follow. When they got to the steps of the temple, the elder motioned upwards, indicating that what they were supposed to see was at the top. Arnold started to climb, but when his friends started to follow, they were stopped by the tribe. Arnold turned around when he heard Helga yelling to let them go.

"They're with me!" he yelled, not sure if it would help or not, "They're my friends…"

The elder nodded his head at the group and they were freed to follow Arnold up the steps. And so they began to climb. The steepness of the sides made Arnold wonder how it was possible that his mom and dad had gotten up the steps during a volcanic eruption, but nevertheless, they climbed on. Finally, after what felt like forever, and drenched in their own sweat despite the shade, they reached the top of the temple. The only think up there was four pillars and a roof; nothing to see really except for a skyward view of the village, the huts arranged in an ellipse with a circular mound in the center.

"Arnold…" Gerald said, shaking his friends shoulder, "is it just me, or does that place look like a giant eye?"

"I think that's the idea Gerald… from what me parents understood of their culture, the eye, and most anything shaped like it, is sacred to these people. They believe it's the form their supreme god takes when it comes to earth."

"I don't know what you two are babbling about… all I see is a football." Helga chimed in, finally having caught her breath.

"You guys… I think there's a staircase over here we should go down…" Phoebe said, standing in front of one of the pillars.

"What makes you say that?" Arnold asked, walking to where she stood, staring at some carvings in the stone.

"Looks like a set of instructions man…" Gerald said, looking over his shoulder.

Sure enough, there were pictures carved into the pillar, there was four figures, one with a crown over his head, standing on top of the pyramid. Then an arrow pointed down towards a zigzag line that could easily mean stairs. The next picture was of the four figures standing in front of a wall with the eye symbol at the center, the figure with the crown holding an orb overhead, and what looked to be dozens of smaller figures kneeling in front of them. The last two pictures made the least amount of sense though… it was two more figures, one distinctly female and the other definitely male, lying in what looked like a bed. The crowned figure held both the orb as well as a diamond over them, and then the two people were standing next to the crowned one on either side, encircled at the center of another eye…

"What do you think it means?" Phoebe asked, reaching out for the last image and tracing the center of the eye that circled the last three figures.

"I don't know… but I feel like I know what it's supposed to mean…" Arnold said, looking around the pagoda. "I think the four people in the drawings are us… or supposed to be… and they're traveling down some stairs… but there's nothing here."

"Maybe the stairs are hidden man…" Gerald suggested, "Let's start looking for a switch or something, like in a spy movie!"

"You guys do that." Helga said, leaning against the opposite pillar with another eye symbol carved into it, an emerald the size of a fist serving as it's pupil, "I'll cool my heels and wait for you to give up…"

Right as she said it though, her shoulder hit the emerald and a definite click was heard, two seconds later, a section of stone in the middle of the pyramid dropped away slowly and the kids watched in awe as a staircase was revealed.

"You did it Helga!" Arnold exclaimed, "How did you know what to do?"

"It was obvious… couldn't you see it?" she bluffed, just as amazed as the rest of them

"Well… there's the steps… looks like we go for another walk you guys…" Gerald suggested.

"Yep…" Arnold agreed, heading down into the dark tunnel, the rest of the group following behind closely.

_**Oooohhh… are you excited yet dear readers? Curious as to what the carvings were? Or why the elder could speak to them in English? How about what Sid, Curly, Nadine, and Stinky are up to? Don't worry… I plan on releasing another chapter later today… so you won't be cringing for long… in the meantime, why not tell me what you think so far? Am I being too clichéd? Review the story or PM me… I'm not picky how I get feedback, but I would love to hear how you are all feeling so far.**_

_**Happy Living,**_

_**musicalreader**_


	4. Chapter 4

Twisted Paths

Part 4

This was completely surreal… just the other day, she had been cracking jokes with her friend Phoebe, and today she was in the heart of an ancient temple following the one person in the world she had feelings for.

_Way to go Helga…_ she thought to herself, _what else could happen to make this whole thing more awkward…_

"Is it just me, or is it getting easier to see?" Gerald asked, breaking the silence that had plagued them as they descended into the heart of the Green Eye's temple.

"No Gerald… I think it is getting lighter in here…" Phoebe confirmed, "But how could there be light at the middle of a stone pyramid?"

As soon as she asked the question, they turned a corner on the staircase and saw the answer. A trail of torches, embedded into the stone corridor walls, were blazing away as if they had just been lit.

"Maybe they're on a switch system… like the stairs were…" Arnold guessed.

"It doesn't matter how they work football head. Let's just find whatever it is we're here for and get out. This place gives me the creeps." Helga said emphatically, a chill running up her spine for no reason other than the sheer size of the tunnel forced them to walk close together, and she just _had_ to be situated close enough to Arnold to be able to pick up his intoxicating scent.

_Okay universe… I get it… you have it in for me… just give me a break please?_ She silently begged, _I promise I'll cut back on the insults._

Apparently the universe has a sense of humor… because the next time they rounded a corner, they were at the end of a flat hallway. At the other end was a solid wall covered in carvings broken up like it was a timeline of sorts. When they got closer to inspect it, they saw that it WAS a timeline. It showed the first of the Green Eyes in a small village, the construction of the pyramid they were in at that very moment, followed by a line of what they could only assume were their gods… each one had a small crown over their head, and there was one with a familiar shaped head that had the largest crown of all, arms spread out over the whole scene.

"Is that… is that Arnold?" Phoebe asked, shocked to see that the image of the head god had the very same shaped head, same hair, and even had the same calm expression on his face. The only difference was that where Arnold had a hat, the picture had a crown…

"Weird…" Arnold muttered to himself, tracing his hand over the rest of the carvings. At the end of the stream of images, there appeared to be a familiar story to him and he teared up slightly.

"What is it man? You okay?" Gerald asked, putting a hand on his best friends shoulder.

"Yeah… I'm fine Gerald… it's just… this end bit… those are my parents helping the Green Eyes… you see?" and he pointed at the small section that showed almost all of the Green Eyes sleeping, and then a pale couple appeared and gave a box to the tribe. In the next picture, the box was open and all the sleeping members of the tribe were awake again. Now the pale couple had small green eyes over their heads, as if to show that they were now a part of the people. Then it showed the couple presenting the diamond from the carving on the pillar to the tribe. The villagers rejoiced and the diamond was displayed over what looked like a bed… or an altar… where the pale couple were standing over…

"This part we've already seen." Helga noted, pointing to the very end set of glyphs. There was the four figures from the pillar standing in front of the steps, but the next image, which should have the four standing in front of the wall and the crowned one holding up a sphere was blank. Instead, there was a blank brick just sitting there… the only blank space on the entire wall.

"I wonder…" Arnold muttered, placing his hand on top of the blank space, pressing lightly, the brick moved back into the wall and was replaced by the glyph they had seen before. Seconds later, the wall itself groaned and split down the middle, revealing a room behind it, illuminated by a bluish light that seemed to come from the walls themselves.

Not needing any further invitations, the group walked into the anteroom, looking around at a room no one had probably seen in centuries. At the center of the room was a pair of small pedestals, rising to just about shoulder height on Gerald, they had marks on the front of each, the one marked with the diamond from the carvings outside the room was empty, a circular patch free of dust sat on the top. The other pedestal was marked with the orb and held a small leather pouch the size of a baseball. Reaching forward cautiously, Arnold tried to grab it, only to have his hand slapped away by Helga.

"What was that for?" he exclaimed in pain and surprise.

"Are you a TOTAL MORON?" she responded, glaring, "Rule number one in an old creepy temple is NOT TO TOUCH ANYTHING!"

"Now Helga… you saw those drawings out there… that was us… and the one that looked like Arnold was holding the circle thingie… I think we can make an exception to that rule." Gerald piped in.

"I agree with him Helga… it feels right for Arnold to take it." Phoebe agreed.

She released his arm and glared at all three of them, "Don't say I didn't try and stop him if this goes wrong…" she muttered, covering her fear with anger per usual.

Arnold gently picked up the pouch from the pedestal, pausing as if expecting a boulder to start falling from overhead. When nothing happened, he grinned and started walking back towards the corridor to leave the pyramid. But about three steps from the wall, the two halves slammed back together.

"Crap! Put it back man!" Gerald yelled, jumping about five feet into the air.

He ran back and put the pouch back onto the pedestal, and almost immediately, the wall opened again.

"How are we supposed to get this out of here if we can't leave when we have it with us?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

"Ever think that maybe we're not supposed to?" Helga suggested. Crossing her arms and leaning against the empty pedestal.

They sat in silence for awhile, each lost in their own thoughts, when Phoebe noticed something she should have before…

"Look at this you guys." She said, directing their attention towards the circle carved into the pedestal. She traced the deep lines that shaped it before rushing to the other pedestal and doing to same to the diamond shape.

"What are we supposed to see here Phoebe?" Gerald asked, squinting at the carvings.

"It's hard to see in this light… but whoever carved these, they made the lines a lot deeper on the circle… it may be nothing…"

"Or it may be another switch!" Arnold finished, placing his palm on the circle and pressing. It took a bit more force than the other switches, but it recessed deep into the pedestal, and right in the middle of the pedestals, a third one rose, this one holding a green crystal the size of a large marble. This time, when Arnold picked it up, they walls made no sign of closing. The group wasted no time in running out of the inner sanctum and back up the stairs, emerging back at the top about fifteen minutes later out of breath but happy that they had managed to recover… whatever it was they had just pulled from the depths of the pyramid.

They emerged to the fresh air to the sounds of cheers and shouts from the Green Eyes. While they climbed down, with Arnold at the front of the line, they heard the cheers turn into song and finally into the same respectful murmured prayers as earlier.

"What the heck is that thing?" Helga asked, "And why are they freaking out about it so much?"

"I don't know…" Arnold responded, "but whatever it is… I think it has something to do with my parents."

"I just hope we did the right thing bringing it out here." Gerald said as they reached the last step and were surrounded by the natives. Arnold was hoisted onto someone's shoulders, and the rest of the group was given a wide berth.

The elder from earlier came to the front of the crowd and said something in the Green Eye tongue, something that got everyone to calm down and bow their heads as if in mourning. He then turned to the kids and said in broken English, "Come with me… you will meet family now…"

"If it's all the same to you… I have some questions…" Arnold began, stepping forward and holding out the crystal, though the elder bowed deeply at the sight of it, praying loudly.

"I think you should keep that thing hidden if you want to get anywhere Arnold." Gerald suggested.

"That may be a good idea…" Arnold agreed, pocketing the jewel and following the Elder as he led them to a hut that was longer and cleaner than the rest.

The old man motioned for them to enter, but what they saw was enough to stop Arnold in his tracks cold. There in the middle of the hut, surrounded by pedestals holding small figurines of their football headed deity, was a stone slab shaped like a bed… and on the slab was none other than his parents.

The elder approached the couple, who didn't look a day older than the picture he had seen of them that was taken almost a full decade ago, and pointed first at the pocket Arnold had hidden the jewel in, and then to the headboard. At the top of the headboard was a small figurine, bright green and almost transparent. Where the sunlight hit it, it almost seemed to disappear. And underneath the small statue was a hole the size of the jewel Arnold clutched in his hand. He put two together and approached, inserting the jewel into the headboard. When he did, the slab of rock glowed and heated up the room so much that Arnold and his friends were forced from the hut, driven back by a wall of pressure that seemed to come from the ground itself. As the dust cleared, and the heat died down, Arnold peered through the entrance of the hut. His parents looked no different from before, but slowly, his dad's hand began to twitch and his mom's brow furrowed as if trying to wake up from a dream. He ran to them, tears streaming down his face and he called for them…

"Mom! Dad!" he yelled, not caring what his friends saw. He shook them in turn until they sat up finally, shaking their heads and stretching. Their eyes opened and they blinked as if they had just woken up from a nap.

"Who're you?" his dad asked, "Where are we?"

"You're in the Green Eye village…" Arnold answered, barely able to think straight, "I'm your son."

"No… no you can't be… Arnold is only two…" Stella said groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes still.

"I am your son… see?" and he took off his hat and handed it to them.

"This looks like the hat I gave Arnold before we left…" Miles muttered. "but it's older… more worn…"

His parents looked at the elder and spoke something in the native language. The man in turn nodded his head and pointed directly at Arnold. Whatever he had just told them was apparently a big shock to them, because they slowly looked from the elder to Arnold, their eyes bugging out of their skulls.

"A-arnold?" Miles stuttered, "Is that really you son?"

By this point, Arnold had tears streaming down his cheeks, and a smile on his face that would light up a city, "Yeah Dad… it's me…"

Without another word, Miles and Stella pulled him up onto the bed with them and hugged him tight… the Shortman family finally back together…

_**Well that was cute wasn't it? but don't think we're through just yet… we still have so much more to tell after all… next chapter, you may be lucky enough to hear how they ended up not aging for almost a decade, why Arnold was so revered, and what everything they saw meant. We may even hear from Harold, Curly, Stinky, and Nadine… let's hope they haven't also met a jaguar on their search for their friends…**_

_**Til then…**_

_**musicalreader XIII**_


	5. Chapter 5

Twisted Paths

Part 5

"Well how about that…" Gerald said, looking into the hut while Arnold talked to his parents for the first time in years. "He actually did it… he found them…"

"It is quite touching isn't it?" Phoebe agreed, wiping a happy tear away from her face. "What do you think Helga?" she asked, looking around for her friend, who was nowhere in sight.

"Ahhh, she's probably just going to find some food… I mean, it's dinner time for all we know." Gerald said, beaming for his friends happy turn of events.

"I guess you're right…" she said, looking up at him, "I wonder what we do now?"

"Who knows…" he said simply, shrugging and putting his arm around Phoebe's shoulder.

Unbeknownst to Gerald and Phoebe, Helga was hiding just on the other side of the hut, too overwhelmed at the sight of the boy she loved being so happy.

"Oh dearest Arnold… will I ever be able to bring you this kind of joy? You finally have the one thing in your life that you've always craved… a family that cares for you… parents that love you… and you are the one that rescued them." Helga mused aloud, thinking on what she had just seen, "Will I ever be able to share that feeling? A family… one that acts out of love for each other… and one that cares for you… I wouldn't even know how to describe it. Perhaps I could have this love someday, but that will only come to me when you feel for me the way I do for you… Oh sweet prince of my life, how I long for that day to come, that I may join you in this beautiful world you now find yourself in."

She was snapped out of her vocal contemplation by one of the villagers coming around the corner and gesturing for her to follow. She followed and saw herself, Phoebe, and Gerald being led to a hut nearby that had smoke coming out of the windows. They were seated on mats with the now familiar green eye and given bowl of steaming hot stew, bread, and water.

Miles and Stella, after holding their son so tightly that he tapped out for air, asked the chief what had happened. In the language of the Green Eyes, he explained that to their people, the king of the gods had a human form in the shape of an eye. The very same shape that blazed on everything that they made… they believed that one day, the king of the gods would come to them, born on their temple, and able to command nature to his will. To the Green Eyed people, all these things came to pass when Arnold was born, born not only as was predicted, but to the very people who had saved their village from a dreaded sleeping sickness not months before.

When he was asked why they were asleep for so long to begin with, the chief revealed that when they delivered the second batch of antidote to the village, they contracted the dreaded disease. Unfortunately, the cure had already been used up, and the best they could do was to set them on the stone slab to await their eventual salvation. He explained further that the reason that they were unable to revive Stella and Miles sooner was because they had only the one sacred relic, which Arnold's parents had returned without knowing of its true power. La Corazon was capable of keeping the injured frozen in time, while the other half, El Alma, was capable of healing any ill. Unfortunately, only the king of the gods was said to have been able to call forth the life giving gem from the heart of the temple, the very temple he would be born on.

After hearing all this, Arnold's parents were understandably dumbfounded. Arnold meanwhile, was unable to understand a word that was being said. So all he could do was watch his parents speak in a strange tongue and acknowledge the kind looks the village chief gave him. Finally, his parents picked up on his confusion and asked if they could have a bit of privacy to talk to their son about everything.

"You're probably wondering what that was all about huh Arnold?" his dad asked, smiling at him as if he were still only two

"Turns out you're pretty special to these people… not that we need to be told that." His mom said, kissing him on the forehead, "And we have so much to catch up on sweetie… but for now, I have question for you… what are you doing here in San Lorenzo with three other kids?"

"That's kind of a weird story actually…" Arnold muttered, blushing at having to explain to his parents already how he broke a bunch of rules. Nevertheless, he told them the story, from the contest to the jungle path, the cougar to the waterfall, and everything that had happened since his friends and he entered the village.

His dad laughed when he heard how he had followed the diary's map and found El Alma, his wife shooting him death glares when he seemed to encourage all the risky behavior, but finally, they heard the whole story.

"I guess we've missed a lot of things in your life huh?" his dad said sadly, pulling him close for another hug, "Well not anymore Arnold… when we get back home, we'll always be there for you…"

"You promise?" Arnold asked, looking at his parents and starting to tear up a bit, "You're not going to leave again?"

"We promise sweetie." His mom reassured him, hugging and kissing him, tears streaming down her own face, "But for now… we need to get you back to your group hmmm?" she said, composing herself, "We'll have plenty of time to talk on the trip back. And in the meantime, we can show your classmates some of the incredible things in the jungle!"

"They'd like that…" he sniffed in reply, smiling broadly.

Suddenly, a racket outside the hut made the newly reunited family get up and look out, Arnold was stunned to see Stinky, Curly, Nadine, and Sid standing on the edge of the village, soaking wet and being led to the Shortmans hut by some of the larger Green Eye tribesmen.

"What are you guys doing here?" Arnold asked, running out to them, the guards bowing and backing up when they saw that he knew them. "How did you get to this place?"

"We were just about to ask you the same question Arnold… we were following the trail you left when you ran off last night, and when we get to the river, Curly here sees something shiny and jumps in. When we jumped in to pull him out, we got caught by the current and the next thing we know, we're flying over a waterfall and we roll into a cave! What kind of crazy jungle is this?" Sid replied hysterically, "And what's with the crazy Indians treating us like we're invaders!"

"Well technically son, you are invaders to the Green Eyes… and you're lucky they had the fishing net out this late in the day, otherwise you probably wouldn't have lived this long." Arnolds dad cut in. stepping over to Arnolds friends holding his hand out, "Hi, Miles Shortman, Arnolds dad."

"You're his dad?" Stinky asked, "But I thought you was lost in the jungle for good!"

"Well… we were pretty far out of the way yes… but our son saved us. This is my wife Stella." He said introducing Arnolds mom to the kids.

"Nice to meet you all… I'm sure we'll hear all about you kids when we have more time to talk to our son… but for now, what do you say we try and all get back to your school group?" Stella suggested, her calm voice soothing the somewhat hysterical children.

"Arnold, why don't you go get your other friends, and your mom and I will try to get a few of the hunters to help us back to your campsite…"

"Sure thing… dad…" Arnold answered, still getting used to the phrase. He walked over to the hut with all the villagers crowded around it and assumed that was where they would be. sure enough, he walked through the crowd, the people making a neat aisle for him to slip through, and found all three of his friends eating a small feast.

"Hey Arnoldo!" Helga called from her seat on one of the mats, "You should try some of this stuff! It's delicious!"

"No thanks Helga… but could you guys finish up? We're going back to camp soon…" he replied, though sorely tempted by the thought of hot food and some water.

After a good twenty minutes of corralling, all seven kids plus Arnold and his family were ready to leave the village. The Green Eyes all came out to see the group and the three hunters who would accompany them off. The chief made one last bow to Arnold and the rest of the tribe followed suit, and they were on their way.

"Dad?" Arnold asked as they walked through a different tunnel, "What if the Green Eyes need your help again with something like the sleeping sickness? Will you and mom come back here and help them?"

"Arnold… we said we'd stay with you from now on, and we meant it… besides, you managed to see that they'll never need help from the outside world again. That gem you pulled out of the temple? That has the ability to heal any disease or injury. They just needed a very special person to help them find it." Miles smiled at his son, deciding it was best not to tell him just yet what the Green Eyes thought of him as…

"Leeko says we're about two hours walk from the site you showed us on the map." Stella said to the group, smiling at her son.

"Leeko?" Arnold asked, confused by the strange name.

"The hunter leading the way," she explained, "He's the tribes best tracker, and the one who volunteered first… I think he also mentioned finding you in the cave…"

"Will you guys teach me how to speak their language someday?" he asked, his inquisitive nature surfacing.

"Sure kiddo… we'll teach you everything we know…" his dad promised, "but first things first, we need to get you kids back to safety."

No sooner had he said it than a giant dark blur appeared out of the trees, cutting the line in half, separating the adults from the kids. Everyone froze for an instant and the shadow let out an all too familiar snarl revealing long white teeth and yellowy green eyes.

"Run for safety kids!" Miles called out, pulling out a machete the tribe had given him before they left, "We'll deal with the jaguar!"

None of them needed to be told twice, and as soon as the adults surged towards the jungle cat, they took off into the woods intent on losing the jaguar if it came after them. Arnold and Helga were at the head of the pack, panting screaming as they lost sight of the hunters and Arnold's parents.

"Keep running football head!" Helga yelled, "They'll be okay! just keep runnEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

She was cut off mid phrase when Arnold and she fell into a covered pit. The rest of the group stopped short and looked in to see their crumpled forms at the bottom, having just missed landing on top of several dozen sharpened stakes.

"ARNOLD! HELGA!" Gerald yelled down, "ARE YOU OKAY?"

Helga stirred, sitting up and paying attention not to touch the stake tips as she stood up and walked over to Arnolds still unmoving form. "Come on Arnold… you're not leaving us now…" she muttered, rolling him over so he was facing upwards. His eyelids flew open and instead of grinning, he frowned and let out a howl of intense pain, grabbing at his leg, he rolled back to how he had landed and started screaming into the dirt at the bottom of the pit.

"GERALD!" Helga yelled up, "GET THE REST OF THE GUYS OUT OF HERE AND BRING HELP! CHECK TO SEE IF ARNOLD'S PARENTS ARE OKAY! I THINK HE BROKE HIS LEG! DID YOU GET ALL THAT?"

"Got it Helga!" he yelled down, turning to the rest of the group, he told them to head back towards the path. They took off in a hurry, stopping only long enough to leave a marker at the entrance to the trap so they would know where to return to when they had gotten help.

At the bottom of the pit, Arnold continued to moan into the ground, the pain subsiding but there nonetheless. Helga crawled over to him and forced him to flip, taking care not to move his leg too much. She took the bow out of her hair and used it to dry some of the tears that were falling from his face.

"Shhhhhh" she whispered gently, holding his head in her lap and rocking gently to calm him down. "It'll be fine Arnold… you'll be fine… come on now, you made it this far in this crazy adventure… you have to stay with me now okay? don't you quit… your family needs you… the class needs you… _I _need you…"

She did everything she could do to soothe and comfort him while they waited for help to arrive.

_**Ooohhhh am I wicked or what? I hope you enjoyed that little section dear readers… I know I loved writing it. and there's still more to come! How exciting… stay tuned, the next section will be here before you know it… in the meantime, as with the other chapters, I'd love to hear what you all think of my little project. If I don't hear something, who knows what could happen to the characters…**_

_**Til next time,**_

_**musicalreader XIII**_


	6. Chapter 6

Twisting Paths

Part 6

Helga had been trying to keep Arnold comfortable for the last three hours. Almost immediately after she had told Gerald to go get help, he had returned with Arnold's parents as well as the hunters who were guiding them. The jaguar had been driven off almost about three minutes after the kids took off into the woods, and luckily, no one had been injured. Phoebe and the others had wanted to stay with them near the pit until they got out, but the Shortmans had insisted that they continue back to camp with two of the hunters. After they were sure that nothing had broken skin and that Arnold was responsive, his parents went back to the Green Eyes village to get some supplies to get them out and safely back to camp. Unfortunately, this left Helga alone, in a pit, with the one person she truly loved…

"Uhhh… Helga?" Arnold muttered, having been slipping in and out of sleep for the last hour, "Are you still here?"

"Yeah football head…" she answered softly, the usual insult sounding like a pet name in the darkening hole, "I'm still here. I'm not leaving until you're safe."

"I just had the weirdest dream." He said, "I thought we had found my parents…"

"We did Arnold. Actually, you did…"

"Where are they?" he asked, struggling to sit up slightly, Helga forcing him to lay back down, his head in her lap.

"They're going to get help to get us out of here. You're hurt, but they'll get you out of here and fixed up in no time." She said quietly, stroking his hair.

"What happened though?" he asked, "All I remember is running… and then nothing…"

"We fell into a pit. We're actually really lucky we missed the stakes." Helga told him, laughing slightly at the sheer dumb luck of it all.

"I guess this makes twice I'm lucky you're around…" he murmured, piquing her interest.

"When was the first time?" she asked, hoping he was still able to think straight.

"On the FTI building… you were deep voice… and there was something else…" he said, trying to remember.

"Let's just focus on the here and now okay Arnold?" she coaxed, trying to keep him from repeating what she had said _in the heat of the moment_.

"No… you said something really nice… I liked it… what was it?"

"Just relax… it's not important."

Yes it was!" he argued, his energy surging, and just as quickly draining away as he collapsed back into her lap, his eyes barely open.

"Shhhh… if it's that important… I'll tell you what I said so you'll remember." She offered, the whole time trying to get her heart to stop beating so wildly.

"I'd like that…" Arnold answered, smiling weakly up at her, still able to make her feel faint even when he was barely awake.

"I… I said that I…" she started, interrupted by Arnold

"I never told you this Helga… but I really like you when you're nice… I think I may even like-like you"

Helga was glad it was dark, so he couldn't see the shade of red she was turning. "You really mean that?" she asked, afraid to hear if it was true or not.

"Yeah… you're kind of mean a lot of the time… but other times, you can be the sweetest person in the world… like when you write about me in your journal… or talk to that picture of me in your locket…"

_Oh shit…_ she thought to herself, _he knows all about that stuff?_

"What locket?" she asked innocently, "I don't have a locket of you… and I don't write poems of you either…"

Arnold smiled, "I never said they were poems…"

"W-well… I just assumed…" she lied, her heart rate shooting through the roof.

"Well… you at least deserve something in return for helping me out…" he said, sitting up, this time pulling her down closer to him as well.

"Arnold…" was all she could get out before their lips met and she felt like her whole body was pulsing with electricity.

Time seemed to flow by like water back in the river, and the kiss she had always hoped he would return seemed to be over too soon.

They pulled away and sat in silence, staring into each others' eyes. Arnold couldn't believe he had just done that, and Helga was still numb with euphoria. After several minutes of silence, a rope dropped right onto Helga's head, knocking her out of her blissful meditation.

"What the crap" she began, before looking up and seeing Miles, Stella, and the hunter looking into the pit.

"Are you guys still alright down there?" Miles called down, leaning over the side and dropping down, guided by the rope.

"Yeah…" Helga answered, trying not to move Arnold too much, but getting out of the way of his dad as he landed right next to them, pulling out some cloth and a couple of medium sized dowels.

"Is Arnold still awake?" Stella asked, leaning over the entrance to check on her son.

"Yeah Mom… I'm awake…" Arnold replied weakly, still in pain and pretty tired from just lying there.

"Now son… this is going to hurt a bit… but you'll be able to at least move easier afterwards okay?" his dad cautioned, placing his hands gently on Arnolds lower left leg.

He nodded and gritted his teeth, bracing himself for the pain that flew up his body when his dad straightened out the bones and started to apply the splint. He grabbed onto Helga's shirt and she dabbed the sweat off of his face with her bow. Finally, Miles was done and helping his son stand up, supporting his weight and telling him to wrap his arms around his neck. When Arnold was securely holding on, Miles climbed up out of the pit and handed him to Stella before going back in for Helga.

"Same deal sweetie…" he instructed, bending over so she could climb onto his back for the ride up, "just don't let go okay?"

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that…" she replied, keeping her mind on the kiss Arnold and Her had just shared until they were firmly back on the floor of the jungle and away from the edge of the pit.

"Sorry it took so long for us to get back out here…" Stella said, holding onto her son's waist, helping him along slowly until they found a spot for him to sit.

"I'm just glad you guys weren't a dream." Arnold said calmly, smiling through the pain and looking around to see that everyone was safely out of the pit.

"Well, the hunters that went ahead with your friends got back just before we left to come get you, and they said that everyone's are safely back at camp, and your teachers are worried, so we'll have to get moving now…" Miles told them, picking up Arnold in his arms and cradling him as they started walking.

"I feel silly like this…" Arnold muttered to his dad, who was easily twice as tall and still in great shape for having been asleep as long as he had.

"I know Arnold… but I promise, we'll let you walk into camp okay? This is just so we can get you to a real hospital as soon as possible." Miles explained, smiling at his son, "You know… I remember the last time I held you like this, it felt like last week… and you were so small that I could hold you with one hand… now you're so big… I'm sorry we couldn't be there for you all this time."

"I understand why you guys left…" Arnold answered, "It hurt sometimes, but I knew why you did what you did. And when Grandpa read me your diary last year, I felt like I was so close to you guys…"

"Never again…" Stella promised, walking beside them, "We'll always be a family from now on."

Arnold smiled one more time and drifted off to sleep, shaken awake roughly an hour and a half later when they reached the outskirts of camp.

"Wake up big guy…" his dad said, shaking him slightly and setting him on the ground on his good leg, supporting him with one arm.

"We're there already?" he asked, shaking his head to clear away the cobwebs in his brain.

"That's right Arnoldo…" Helga said, walking beside him, though this time, the insult was friendly, "Now let's go show them what a hero you are okay?"

Miles and Stella shared a look, and let Helga support their son as they walked back into the camp, the entire class and Mr. Simmons rushing forward to see Arnold. It took a few minutes, but eventually, Miles and Stella caught the attention of the group. They introduced themselves to the teachers and chaperones as Arnolds parents, and then they borrowed the radio to call for an emergency medical helicopter to pick them and their son up.

"He'll be back out here sometime next week if you are still keeping the kids out here for the rest of the trip." Miles said, hoping that they could show the kids the jungle still.

"Sorry Mr. Shortman, but the rules are clear… I'm afraid that the class will have to head back immediately, but because of the circumstances, no punishments will be given, and Arnold will be excused from class until you three are able to get back to the city. It was a pleasure to meet you two." Mr. Wartz answered, straight faced as always, but his tone was still one of surprise.

"We'll be waiting to hear news of how he's doing." Mr. Simmons said, grinning at the two parents as the helicopter landed about a hundred feet away and EMT's got out to help Arnold onto a stretcher, "It is SO GOOD to finally meet you two by the way. I hope everything turns out alright."

"We have a feeling everything's going to be fine from now on…" Stella said, shaking Mr. Simmons hand, "Now we have to get in the chopper, but I'll want to meet with you after he gets back to see how he's been doing in school."

"Heh…" Miles chuckled as they walked to where their son was being loaded, "Do you know how much like a parent you sounded just then?"

"Well we are parents… and we've got a lot of new things to do now…" she answered, smiling down at her son as they sat waiting to take off to the nearest city.

"It's just one adventure after another isn't it?" Miles asked, smiling at his wife and their son in turn.

"You know it dad…" Stella said jokingly, watching as they picked up off the ground.

Two weeks later…

"Helga! Did you hear? Arnold's back!" Phoebe said excitedly, "We're all going over to his house after school to see how he's doing… do you want to come along?"

"Nah Pheebs… I don't do all that mushy stuff… I'll probably just drop by sometime later and see him or something." Helga replied, thumbing through her newest wrestling magazine at her desk.

As soon as her friend was out of earshot and the rest of the class followed Gerald out to see their classmate, she threw the magazine down and pulled out her locket.

"Oh sweet lord of love, finally, you are back where you belong… so close to me that I can practically feel your warm soft kiss already… but alas, until we can sift through our emotions and reveal our true feelings, I fear I must put up this ghastly façade for a touch longer" Helga said to the image of the boy she loved, twirling around the empty classroom, shouting her feelings to the very heavens "… but it matters not… you're home! You're home!"

_**Well... now that that parts over, I feel safe to tell you that the next part of this story will not focus on these two darlings so much. But that doesn't mean you should stop reading… I will merely shift view points for a bit, give them their privacy… or maybe I'll keep going, I haven't really decided yet… long story short, I hope you've been able to keep up with the updates, they will be slowing down for the next few weeks as I prepare to head off to school, but I will do my best to update three times a week. Look for the next installment of Twisting Paths, coming soon.**_

_**As always, REVIEW PLEASE!**_

_**Til then, **_

_**musicalreader **__**XIII**_


	7. Chapter 7

Twisting Paths

Part 7

It had been three weeks since Arnold and his parents were reunited in central America, and the entire time had been nothing but joy for the reunited family. Everyone at the boarding house had been abuzz when they heard that Miles and Stella were on their way back, and even happier when they saw them get out of the cab with Arnold. Grandma and Grandpa were so happy that Grandma acted normal, and Grandpa hugged Mr. Kakoshka…

"I can't believe you're back." Grandpa said, tearing up slightly as he hugged his son and daughter-in-law.

"Arnold, why don't you go up to your room and get some rest." Stella suggested, nudging her son towards the stairs, "The adults are going to need some time to talk…We'll be up later ok?"

"Sure mom." He said, smiling and making his way upstairs to the sounds of his family excitedly talking.

It took him a little longer to get up the stairs than he was used to because of the cast on his left leg, but he finally got up to his room and flopped onto his bed, drifting off to sleep quickly to dreams of his family and him on a picnic in the park… a dream that would have made him cry with loss until recently… now it was just a happy thought for the future. He was shaken awake what felt like a few minute later, but when he looked at the clock, he saw that it had been about three hours.

"There are some friends of yours here to see you Arnold." Miles said, smiling and gesturing at the door to Arnold's room, slightly cracked and with no less than six heads poking around the corner.

"Hey guys."Arnold said, waving for them to come in, surprised that so many of his classmates were waiting to see him.

But there were more waiting than Arnold had guessed, as he watched almost his entire class walk in, all happy to see him and see how he was doing. After fielding the usual questions of what the hospital was like, when he had gotten back, had he gotten in trouble… Gerald asked what his parents were like.

"Uhhh… I don't know where to start actually…" Arnold said, blushing, "I mean, Grandpa's been telling me stories about them for so long, and now I get to see them for real… it's just… hard to explain."

"I hope for your sake Arnold," Rhonda chimed in, trying to look aloof as always, "That you end up looking half as good as your dad does."

"He is quite charming and handsome." Phoebe agreed, the rest of the girls in the class nodding.

"And they're both really smart!" Stinky added, standing well over everyone else, "They're both doctors right? You weren't fooling about that?"

"They're both doctors Stinky." Arnold assured them, "But they're really relaxed about everything… not like you'd expect. Where's Helga by the way?" he asked, noting the lack of sarcastic remarks.

"She said that she might stop by later if she wasn't busy." Phoebe said, looking somewhat embarrassed by her friends rude gesture.

"Oh… well that's cool then. So what have I missed at school?"

While everyone bombarded him with details about what had been happening without Arnold, he let his mind wander to several weeks ago in the jungle. After they fell down into the pit, he had a dream that he had kissed Helga… and though it shouldn't have bugged him that much… it felt so real. But he wouldn't really kiss her would he?

Finally, his Mom poked her head in and asked everyone to leave for the day so that he could get some rest, assuring them that he would see them in school the next day.

Stella laughed as she watched his classmates file out, some looking disappointed, others happy to see their friend after such a long absence. "You must be very popular." She chuckled, sitting on the edge of her son's bed.

"Yeah… I guess I am… I'm surprised they're in such good shape though." Arnold said, looking from the door to his mom.

"Oh? And why wouldn't they be? They're not the ones who ran into a stake pit." She commented, patting his cast, which had hers and his father names on them in big bold letters.

"I'm kind of the one at school who helps the others with their problems… sometimes it gets me in trouble, but the rest of the time, it's funny how much better they feel afterwards." He told her, trying not to sound cocky, but trying to share his life with them nonetheless.

"Hmmm. Sounds to me like you're already well on your way to being a great young man." Stella mused, a misty look coming over her eyes as she smiled at her little boy. "Maybe someday, you'll help people like your father and me?"

"I think I'd like that…" he agreed, trying to find something else to talk about. He had worn out most topics of conversation in the hospital catching up on the last 9 years.

"Well… whenever you feel hungry, your grandma and I are making soup." Stella said, getting up off his bed and kissing him on the forehead, "And I'll be sure she keeps anything that's an _old family recipe_ out of it."

Arnold laughed at the joke and leaned back against his pillow to stare at the clouds overhead, dreaming of all the good things he had.

Helga had peeled out of the classroom as soon as she was sure that everyone was well out of the way. Even though she was bursting with anticipation at seeing Arnold again, she was still a little nervous about showing anyone that she actually cared for her usual victim. She ran down the city sidewalks, taking the shortest route to his house, and waited on the fire escape outside his window. She had timed it perfectly, looking in just as everyone was leaving. She wanted to knock and hear his sweet angelic voice so bad… but what would he say if he found her on his fire escape? As she planned her next move, he got up and hobbled to the corner where his crutches were, picking them up and leaving his room.

"Dang!" she muttered, "How am I going to talk to him when he's not alone?"

She tried to think of different ways to isolate him, but nothing came to her.

"Maybe I should just go up to him and ask to have a word with him?" she mused, "I mean… what's the worst that could happen? He practically told me he loved me the last time I saw him."

With that happy thought to fuel her actions, she climbed down the fire escape and walked up to his front door, which was answered by none other than his dad.

"Hey!" he greeted, "You're Arnold's friend right? The little girl that fell into the trap with him. Come on in!"

"Uhhh, thanks…" she replied, not really used to people being nice to her, or adults remembering her… too many years of living with Bob saw to that, "Is Arnold awake right now?" she asked,a s if she didn't already know.

"Yeah, he just came down for dinner, would you like to join us?" Miles offered, motioning towards the dining room.

"Sure…" she accepted, definitely outside her comfort zone, but anxious to see her love all the same.

"Everyone!" Miles said, getting the boarders attention, and his families, "We have a guest, this is Helga, Arnold's friend from school."

"Nice to meet you again Helga." Stella said, showing her to a seat, which happened to be right across form Arnold. "These are Arnolds grandparents, Phil and Gertie"

"And these are some of the boarders," Miles chimed in, pointing them out in turn, "That's Mr. and Mrs. Kakoshka, Ernie, and lastly but not least, Mr. Hyun."

"Hi everyone." Helga said shyly, blushing at being treated so warmly.

"Here, have some soup." Gertie offered, "You look like you could use a good home cooked meal."

"Thanks…" she replied, stunned by the nice way everyone was acting, "Uhhh, I actually came over to see how Arnold was doing, and how everything was since San Lorenzo…"

"Everything's great Helga." Arnold replied, grinning from across the table, "I was a little surprised when you didn't come over with everyone else, but I'm glad to see you."

"Yeah, we've been busy these last few weeks catching up… Arnold told us you two were in the school play?" Stella said, looking at Helga like she could see her soul, but still smiling warmly.

"Yeah… we were… He was Romeo, and I was Juliet." She explained, blushing at the memory of the kiss she stole from Arnold onstage.

"That must have been weird for you then?" Miles guessed, leaning in slightly, "I don't think a lot of fourth graders would have fun with Shakespeare."

"Actually… I liked it a lot." She admitted, much to Miles and Stella's surprise, "I like poetry, and Shakespeare was really fun to act…" _plus, I got to kiss your son_

"There was one scene though," Arnold said, "The kiss at the end, she must have lost her count, because she held it for a lot longer than it was supposed to be for." Arnold piped in, laughing.

"Well… I was nervous, and I was trying to remember what I said after that." Helga lied, blushing.

Miles and Stella shared a look Helga couldn't quite figure out before nodding at her, saying how that was completely understandable and they would have done the same thing. The rest of the meal passed with Helga trying not to open her mouth, lest she say something stupid. Finally, when everyone was done and the dishes were out of the way courtesy of Ernie and Mr. Hyun, Helga asked if she could talk to Arnold alone about some of the things that had happened on the trip. Arnold said that they could talk up in his room and asked if it was alright with his parents, they both smiled and said it was okay.

When they were alone in his room, Helga tried to put on her tough act as best she could.

"Well your family seems happy." She said, crossing her arms and standing opposite Arnold, who sat on his bed, "And your parents are a lot cooler than I expected…"

"Yeah." He agreed, "They are pretty cool."

"So…" Helga said, looking at Arnold, blushing.

"So…" he replied, a calm look on his face.

"About what happened in the San Lorenzo…"

"I wanted to say something real quick about that." Arnold began, stopping her.

"What is it?" she asked, nervously.

"I wanted to apologize for what I might have said in the stake pit." Arnold said nervously, scratching the back of his head, "I can't remember much after falling in… but I know you were there for me, and I think I had some pretty weird things going through my head that may have spilled out accidentally…"

Helga did NOT like where this was going, but she stood there trying to keep an aloof attitude, "Like what kind of stuff?" she asked.

"Well… I think I told you that I like-like you… and I don't think that's true…" he said frankly.

"Oh?" was all she said as she felt her heart shatter on the inside. It was all she could do not to cry right then and there.

"Yeah… I mean, you can be the nicest person in the world… but well… I doubt you like me like that, and I didn't want to make anything awkward by not apologizing for the stupid thoughts that came out of my mouth. But I owe you big time for what you did to take care of me back then… if there's anything I can do to make it up, just let me know."

"Sure football head… I'll let you know…" she replied, desperately trying not to burst into tears and pound her fists against the walls as she heard the one person she actually loved tell her that everything he had said, all his confessions, were stupid ideas… "I have to get going now." She lied, opening the door.

"Sure thing Helga, just take care okay?" Arnold said from the bed, watching her leave.

It took every ounce of will power to hold in her emotions as she ran out of the boarding house, finally collapsing in a fit of hot, bitter tears in the alley next to the boarding house. A heavy rain was falling but she didn't care. She sobbed into her arms as she doubled over on the ground and wailed at the pain of having her feelings torn up so callously. The only thing that made it worse, was that she felt no anger towards Arnold… because she had done nothing but torment him for years…

_**How was that? Were you expecting that to happen? Don't lie now… please let me know what you thought, and what you hope will happen next. I encourage you to leave a review, or PM me if you have any questions. I can't stress enough how much I love to hear what readers have to say, so please share…**_

_**Til next time,**_

_**musicalreader**_


	8. Chapter 8

Twisting Paths

Part 8

Six months had passed since returning to Hillwood, and things were better now… except for one thing…

"Out of my way geek bait!" Helga ordered, pushing Gerald and Arnold out of the way and lurched over to her desk, slouching down and starting her latest arsenal of spit wads.

"Is it just me?" Gerald whispered to Arnold, "Or has she gotten a lot meaner since the class trip?"

"I don't know Gerald… I thought she was really nice in San Lorenzo… but she's been really angry for awhile now…"

"Oh no… Arnold, please tell me you're not going to try and help her…" Gerald cautioned.

"I have to see if there's anything wrong." Arnold explained, getting up to walk over to her.

"What do you want football dweeb." She spat, glaring at Arnold with an especially intense look of hatred.

"I just wanted to know if everything was alright with you Helga." He explained honestly, "I still haven't forgotten that I owe you… is there anything that I can do to help?"

Helga sighed and put down the piece of paper she was shredding, "No Arnold… I don't need your help." She said, "Just leave me alone if you know what's good for you."

"You don't have to act tough you know…" he said quietly, leaning over her desk, "We start sixth grade in a few months… and I know you can be a really good person… why not try and start over?" he offered, smiling at her slightly, afraid that she would smack him for trying to reach out to her.

"I said I'm FINE!" Helga yelled, pushing herself out of her desk and storming out of the room.

Arnold would have run after her, but as he was about to leave, Mr. Simmons stopped him at the door and called the class to order. He started off by calling roll, but when Helga wasn't there, Phoebe offered to go look for her. Arnold could only wait and hope that she was okay.

"WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?" Helga screamed from her hiding spot in the janitors closet, "What he did hurt so much… but he's too nice to actually hate! WHY ME?"

"Helga?" Phoebe's voice said from outside the door, "Are you in there?"

"Go away Phoebe…" Helga said miserably, reigning in her temper around her friend. "Go back to class and tell them I went home sick."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" she offered, still hovering outside the door.

"I'm sure."

"Well… I'll check on you later if you'd like." Phoebe said, making it more of a statement than a suggestion.

"Whatever." Helga muttered, pulling out her locket and looking at the same face she had yearned for for years, but had never been reciprocated.

She sat in that closet for what must have been hours, because the bell kept going off, and people shuffled by every so often on their way to classes. Finally, Helga grew fed up with wallowing in her own thoughts and opened the door to leave, only to run smack into the one person she wanted to avoid.

"Sorry Helga." Arnold said hastily, picking himself and her off the ground, a worried look on his face.

"Watch yourself Arnoldo." She replied furiously, trying not to let him touch her, afraid she'd lose what little grip on her true emotions she had.

"Okay… where were you all day?" he asked, "Phoebe looked really worried at lunch, and when I asked what had happened, she said you went home sick. Do you feel any better?"

_Why did he have to be so freaking nice? _"I wasn't feeling up to class today, big deal." She said, brushing herself off and calming down slightly at the thought of her friend upset because of her.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Arnold offered, "Just in case something might happen?"

"You're not my parents… so don't act like you are." She said bitterly, thinking of her own home, a mother who was never there mentally, and a dad who ignored her except when she was trying to be like Olga…

"I'm not offering to act like a parent… mine are still trying to figure out how to treat me." He said, trying to joke, but it was true, Miles and Stella were still learning what was appropriate as far as boundaries were concerned.

"Yeah… say hi to them for me okay?" Helga said, walking away. As mad as she was, she still remembered how nice Arnolds parents had been to her… they had even known her name…

"I'll do that." Arnold promised, watching as Helga marched out of the school and off to who knew where.

"Hey Shortman!" Grandpa greeted him as he walked in the boarding house. "Your mom's in the kitchen helping Grandma with dinner."

"Thanks Grandpa, and the picture is a little crooked." He remarked, watching him put up a large picture of a schooner on the high seas in a storm.

"Thanks kiddo… I was wondering why it looked funny…"

Arnold walked into the kitchen to see Grandma in a karate outfit, chopping lettuce with her bare hands. His mom was standing back and trying not to laugh as she watched lettuce shreds fly everywhere but into the bowl they were supposed to go in.

"Hey Arnold!" Stella greeted, hugging her son tightly, the warmth of it making him feel at ease with the world.

"Grasshopper!" Grandma greeted, turning to bow to her one time student, "You're just in time… would you care to help me dice this darned thing? It doesn't understand that when an opponent strikes, that you are to face the challenge head on. It keeps slipping to the side."

"I already told you mom…" Stella said, pinching the bridge of her nose and laughing, "This foe needs to be attacked with a knife."

"That's a coward's way of thinking Yellow Tail." She scoffed, hands on her hips.

"If it's all the same to you grandma, I'd rather not…" Arnold said, backing away from the cutting board as Gertie shrugged and went back to hitting the lettuce head with the edge of her hands.

"Do you want to talk about school today Arnold?" Stella asked, sitting down at the table and motioning for him to join her.

"It was really weird today mom." He said, "You remember Helga?"

"The girl who helped you in the stake pit in San Lorenzo?" Stella said, "How could I forget the girl who helped save my son?"

"Well, she's always been a bit of a bully, but ever since the three of us came back to Hillwood, she's been especially nasty to people… I mean, she was so nice on the trip, and when we got back, she was happy. You saw her at the table… she was a good person… anyway, she skipped practically the whole day today, and when I finally got around to asking her, she said she hadn't been feeling up to going to class. What happened?"

"Hmmm…" his mom muttered, her chin in hand, "That is odd alright… If I remember right, she seemed to really like you last time I saw you."

"I doubt she likes me mom… she's picked on me for years."

"Maybe so, but your dad and I both saw her face when she stayed for dinner… she was happy. Did you try and talk to her?"

"Yeah… but she keeps telling me to mind my own business." Arnold said, frowning slightly at the unpleasant memory.

"Hmmm… This sounds like something you should talk to your dad about sweetie."

"But he doesn't get back from the museum until ten!" he exclaimed, "I'm really worried about her mom…"

"Alright Arnold, alright… if it will make you feel better, we can go over to her house and see how she's doing." Stella said, trying to calm her son down.

"Thanks mom… can we go now?" he asked, getting up from his seat and smiling gratefully.

"Just let me help your grandmother finish up here, shouldn't take more than a few minutes… and then we'll go see her ok?"

"Got it." he replied, leaving the room running up to his room to drop his books off.

Twenty minutes later, Stella and Arnold walked the three blocks to Helga's house, a fairly large old stone building, and rang the doorbell.

From behind the door, they could clearly hear Big Bob yelling for someone to see who it was. A few seconds later, the door swung open and a rather dazed looking Miriam stood in front of them, glassy eyed and tired marks around her eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asked lazily.

"Hi there Mrs. Pataki, I'm Stella, Arnolds mother. My son is in class with your daughter, and we're just checking in to see if she's okay."

"Who is it?" Bob hollered from down the hall, "If they're selling anything, just slam the door Miriam!"

"They say they're here for Helga Bob." She hollered back, paying Arnold and Stella no mind. "Did she come home yet?"

"I'm right here Miriam…" Helga said from the staircase right next to her, "I got back an hour ago."

"Well there she is. These people wanted to see if you were okay Olga…" Miriam said airily, gesturing at the two visitors in the doorway.

"I got this Miriam, go back to your smoothies…" Helga said, shoving past her mother and shutting the door behind her, now standing on the stoop with Arnold and his mother.

"Hey Helga, you kind of ran off this afternoon, and I was worried that something was wrong." Arnold began, his mom stepping back and giving the kids their space.

"And I already told you football head, I'm fine. Now if you're done poking your nose in my business, I have to get back to my _happy little family_." Helga said, her arms crossed, and her glare set to ten.

"I heard you call your mother by her first name…" Stella interrupted, "Are you sure you're alright here?"

Stella's kindness took her by surprise… she was used to adults silently accepting how she talked to her parents, but Arnolds parents had a way of making her want to open up and share everything with them. But she couldn't talk… not while Arnold was standing right there. She nodded her head, looking away from Stella's gentle gaze. She took the hint and put her hand on Arnold's shoulder, directing him away from the stoop his classmate sat on.

"Well, if you need to talk to anyone, you can always come see me…" Stella offered, speaking softly and walking away.

"I'll see you in class Helga." Arnold said, looking back a bit saddened at seeing her home life like that.

When she was sure that they were out of sight, Helga put her head in hand and started to cry gently. She hated people seeing how Bob and Miriam were… she hated it when others knew how messed up her life was. And Stella especially seemed to have picked up on it. But no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't talk to her about what was bugging her. She was trying to think of what to do now, when her friend Phoebe rounded the corner looking worried.

"What's up Pheebs?" she asked, drying her tears and looking at her friend.

"I came to ask you what happened today." She said matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean?" Helga asked, trying to blow the question off.

"You know what I mean Helga… after San Lorenzo, you were happy. You were nice to people. Then Arnold comes back into town, and you turn ten times worse than you were… something's bothering you and I want to know what."

"Nothing's bothering me…" she lied.

"I know you're obsessed with Ice Cream Helga…" Phoebe replied, using the code word for Arnold, "But for Pete's sake, will you please just tell me why you decide to suddenly be an absolute monster? What happened between you two?"

"He kissed me okay!" Helga yelled, wanting her friend to just stop with the questions. "He kissed me when we were in the jungle, then when he got back, he apologized and called it all a mistake! He told me he felt the same for me that I do for him! And then he just trashed it… how would YOU react Phoebe?"

"Are you serious?" Phoebe asked, looking absolutely shell shocked. "Did he know you like-liked him?"

"I don't know… maybe? I told him how I felt once, but I blew it off to keep it a secret… I guess I deserve it…"

"No one deserves to have their heart smashed Helga… I don't know what I'd do if Gerald did something like that to me."

"Why not just tell him?" Helga asked, "I've seen you two… you really like each other. You've got nothing to worry about."

"Why don't you tell Arnold?" she retorted, smiling somewhat.

"That's different." Helga said.

"Is it?" Phoebe asked, standing up and starting to walk away. "If I were you, and I didn't want to tell him now… I'd at least tone it back on the lie so I didn't drive him away…"

Helga went inside to the sound of Bob bellowing about how they were out of potatoes and beef, and Miriam trying to make another "smoothie" muttering about how she swore she had just picked up some more the day before. As Helga was about to go upstairs to her room, the one quiet space in the house, Bob saw her.

"Get down here little missy, I want you to run to the butcher stuff and tell Green you're there for "Bob's Usual" and then come right back here so I can eat dinner." He said, handing her a ten dollar bill.

"What about me dad?" she asked, "I don't want to eat steak tonight…"

"Well tough. You can either eat in my house, or fend for yourself outside tonight." He responded gruffly, settling back into his arm chair, turning the volume on the T.V. up.

Helga was so mad at her father that she dropped the money right there on the floor and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her and wondering when her parents would notice that she wasn't there.

She wandered around town as the sun began to set, eventually winding her way around to the Sunset Arms. She looked in the window and saw all the boarders and Arnold's family smiling and passing a bowl of steaming vegetables, and on the table was a delicious looking pork loin. Her stomach growled at her and she realized just how hungry she was. Without really thinking, she knocked on the door, which was of course answered by Stella.

"Hey there Helga!" she greeted happily, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Uhhh… I was wondering… I know it's kind of rude and all… but everyone in my family is doing their own thing for dinner tonight… and I forgot my money… and I remembered the last time I was invited to dinner…"

"Would you like to join us?" Stella offered, finishing Helga's thought for her.

She nodded quickly, looking a little ashamed, but Stella bent down and lifted her chin up, "You feel free to come over and join us whenever you like. We're always open to help make people happy, and Arnold especially likes seeing you smile. Come on in."

"Everyone, you remember Helga?" Stella announced, opening the dining room door, "She'll be eating with us again tonight, her family said it was alright."

"That's great Helga!" Arnold exclaimed, "You're just in time to help us try out my mom's new recipe."

"It's a family recipe!" Gertie exclaimed, waving her fork like she was directing traffic.

"No it's not Pookie, if it was a family secret, you'd have cooked it with dirty socks…" Arnolds Grandpa chided, jamming his knife down on the table in front of Mr. Kakoshka's hand, which was sneaking over to grab his roll.

"Thanks…" Helga said quietly, taking a seat next to Arnold and across from Stella.

"Sorry Miles can't be here tonight," Stella apologized, "But he's been having to stay later and later at the museum to oversee the new Green Eye exhibit they're putting up."

"Sounds like a lot of work." Helga commented, trying to keep her mind off of how close she was to touching Arnold.

"Oh it is… but the best things in life are always a lot of work…" she said, winking at Helga, like they were sharing a secret.

The rest of dinner went surprisingly well, Helga even began a conversation with Arnold without teasing him, and everyone laughed at her story about the time the school had started to flood and their class went insane. Finally, the dishes were being cleared, and Arnold offered to show Helga a new jazz CD he had gotten from his dad. Helga was a little nervous, but Stella smiled and said it was fine with her, so she went.

_This is insane…_ Helga thought to herself as she climbed the stairs to his attic room, _you're going into his room… you've been a monster to him lately, and you're going to the same spot that he broke your heart… where is your head?_

"What do you think?" he asked, playing the first track, "I know it's a little heavy on the keyboard… but what do you think?"

Helga looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, "I love it." she said, not really talking about the song, "But at the same time, I don't…"

"Yeah… those are always difficult songs to figure out." Arnold said, grinning at her, his face suddenly growing serious, "I got a call from Phoebe this afternoon…"

"Oh? What'd she say?" Helga asked, pretty sure she knew what they had talked about.

"She said that she wanted to know how to get Gerald's attention… so I told her that he already noticed her a lot, and she sounded kind of happy about that, and said she'd call him next. Not sure what that was about." he told her, whispering it like it was a secret, I think that she likes him…

"You're really dense about people aren't you Arnoldo?" Helga said sarcastically, even though she was grinning at the weird way he had said it.

"She also said that you were sad lately… and that was why you were acting so angry lately… do you want to talk about it?" he asked, growing serious and leaning closer to her, reaching for her hand as if to comfort her.

"I… I want to talk about it football head." She said, pulling her hands away from him, afraid of what would happen if she felt his touch, "But I can't tell you…"

He seemed to accept that answer, wringing his hands and turning the music off. "I can understand that Helga… when my parents were missing, there were times I couldn't talk to anyone about what I was feeling… but I want you to know that I'm always here for you."

_As if I didn't already think you were perfect…_ she thought to herself, "Thanks Arnold… that means a lot… but I think I'll be fine from now on." She said, feeling happy for the first time in months.

"Okay… now do you need to get home? Or are you going to visit Phoebe tonight?" he asked, standing up and changing the CD's in his stereo, his back to hers.

"I'll probably go home now… but Arnold?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks again for caring… I know I'm pretty nasty sometimes… but I appreciate what you're trying to do…" she said weakly, not used to thanking people.

"Hey, I look after people I care about." he told her, opening the door to his room and walking down the staircase, Helga following closely behind him.

As the door to the boarding house closed behind her after saying goodnight to Arnold and his parents, Helga began to skip down the sidewalk. _He cares about me! _She almost sang aloud, _This means there's still a chance after all!_

She ran home as fast as she could brimming with hope and all the positive emotions she had locked away for the last several months. She ran upstairs, her parents ignoring her per usual, and pulled out her newest pink journal, usually going through several in a year with her poems alone, and she began to write, love blooming again in her heart.

_**Oh sweetest Cupid,**_

_**Eros my love,**_

_**Your words cradle my heart,**_

_**Like the cry of a dove.**_

_**I hurt you and cursed you,**_

_**But you stayed ever true.**_

_**And I know in the end that you will come through.**_

_**We'll be together yet,**_

_**In the future we'll make,**_

_**My love I will give,**_

_**Though my heart you may break.**_

_**Though never on purpose,**_

_**You still make me hurt,**_

_**In a way that cannot be put into words,**_

_**I love you forever,**_

_**And hope you feel the same,**_

_**That our romance can burn,**_

_**Like a torches bright flame.**_

_**I hope you enjoyed this installment, as I may or may not have said before, the update cycle for the next week or so will be roughly every other day, but I will try and upload multiple chapters at once. if you have any questions, comments, or personal feelings you wish to share, please leave a review. If you are logged in, I will personally respond, and as always, I welcome especially constructive criticism.**_

_**Till next time,**_

_**musicalreader**_


	9. Chapter 9

Twisted Paths

Part 9

Sixth grade had come and gone like any other year. Rhonda got involved with middle school drama right off the bat and within a few months, she had even the eighth graders wrapped around her fingers. The biggest change for Helga's class, was the loss of their teacher Mr. Simmons when they moved up to P.S. 120. As much as he had bugged her with his perpetually sunny attitude, she was somewhat happy in that classroom. Their sixth grade homeroom teachers had been almost like prison wardens, trying to keep them under control. Luckily, Curly was always there to spice things up… he even managed to pull off the greatest act of vandalism in the history of their class by plastering caricatures of the principal and their homeroom teacher Ms. Harding all over the front wall of the school. It took them a week to scrub it all off, and even then, there was a shadow on the bricks where you could see the outline. As it was, summer was shaping up to be pretty fun as well…

"Are you going to the party at Gerald's tomorrow Helga?" Phoebe asked, always trying to get her friend involved in social things outside of sports.

"Nah… I think I'll walk down to the pier and get some writing done." Helga responded staring at the sunset over the city, her hair blowing out of her eyes slightly as a breeze blew in.

"Ok… should I say hi to Gerald and Arnold for you then?" she questioned, looking for a response.

"You're baiting me again…" Helga said, smiling at her best friend, "You always tell me he'll be where you want me to go, but I never see him… it's weird actually. I haven't seen him all summer…"

"I'll bet he'll be surprised though when he sees you." Phoebe said, motioning to Helga's entire body.

"Shut up Pheebs… I'll go to the party ok?"

"Yay!" she squeaked, clapping her hands, "I'll find out when we should show up."

While her friend pulled out her cell phone, a gift from her parents for getting all A's, Helga thought about just how much she had changed over the course of the last two months… for one thing, she had lost her pink ribbon during a storm, and instead, had started to wear her hair down as a result. Apparently, this made her look more approachable, because it was about this time that some of the seventh and even a couple of eighth grade boys started coming up to her and trying to ask her out. She always said no, but it was a personal triumph for her… she was still a girl after all…

Another Helga Pataki staple that was changed was her unibrow, something that had been noticeable enough for Arnolds grandpa to call her his little friend with the one eyebrow… but she had gotten her sisters help the last time she visited from her latest teaching post in Kansas and she now had two perfectly manicured thin eyebrows as well as a knowledge of how to use makeup without looking like a street-walker. Couple all that with the recent growth of breasts and a waist, and all in all, she had to admit that she was looking pretty good. Even the horrible side of puberty, which brought a lovely gift every month now, had taught her how to control the emotions she showed, and the last few months of sixth grade, she had started to be nice to everyone, including Arnold.

"Gerald said to show up at his house at about 8…" Phoebe said, interrupting Helga's introspection.

"Cool… and you're sure Arnold will be there?" Helga asked, trying to look disinterested, but they both knew that Arnold's appearance could make or break the night for her.

"He said that this time, he would definitely be there." Phoebe confirmed, winking at her best friend, "Are you thinking you might want to try the ice cream tonight?"

"Don't even joke about that." Helga said firmly, no longer joking, "I still like the guy… but if he rejected me, I don't know what I'd do. Besides… every time we've kissed, it's been some kind of crazy scenario or a life and death situation."

"I knew about the FTI kiss… when else did you guys make out?" Phoebe asked, leaning in and blocking Helga's escape route from the stoop.

"Damn… don't make me tell you Phoebe… please."

"Fine… But I will find out Helga G. Pataki." She warned, a wicked grin spreading across her face as she got up, "I have to go now and meet Gerald about the party, see you tomorrow for lunch."

"Yeah… you two have fun…" Helga said, waving her friend away, turning her attention back to the sunset.

"I'm telling you man…" Gerald said, laying on Arnolds couch, throwing a baseball into the air and catching it inches from his face, "You have to be there tomorrow… I promised Phoebe that you'd be there."

"I still don't know Gerald," Arnold reiterated for the umpteenth time, "I don't think I really like parties, no offense, and I think I may already have to help dad with some repairs around here. Mom's on that book tour, and he needs more help than Grandpa can give."

"Man, if your dad won't let you have the night off once in a while, I'd seriously think about calling a family meeting." Gerald suggested, sitting up.

"Nah… I'd never be like that… if he needs me to help, I'll help." Arnold said finally.

"Actually kiddo," his dad said from the doorway, "I was about to ask you if you had plans for tomorrow night… and I think you should get out of the house for a little bit. Gerald, I want you make sure my son's at that party and that he gets into at least a little trouble clear?"

"Yes sir!" Gerald exclaimed laughing, "Man Arnold, your dad is the chilliest person I know. He actually wants you to get in trouble."

"He says I'm too clean for my age… he wants me to have a proper childhood." Arnold moaned, putting his head on the desk, trying not to laugh.

"Well, you heard the man. Be at my house tomorrow night at eight. In the meantime, I have a date with a lovely young lady."

"Oh yeah… how long has it been now with you and Phoebe?" Arnold asked, watching his friend leave his room.

"Almost six months man… still feels great. You should try and get a girlfriend at the party, I put out flyers in the other middle schools."

"How are you going to fit so many kids in your house?" Arnold asked, confused.

"I'm not… just be me at my house tomorrow at eight, you'll see…" Gerald replied cryptically, shutting the door behind him.

Thinking about it, Arnold realized it couldn't be that bad… after all, he had been practically holed up in the Boarding House all summer trying to help his dad with some renovations, and of course, he was working on his pet project… not even Gerald knew he was trying to write a book. He had gotten the idea form Helga, when she stood up in class to present her literature project. She had decided to keep a journal of all her dreams for a month, and every morning, she would take out her pen, and write as much of it down as she could. Arnold had always been a daydreamer, but he had often wonder what would happen if they weren't always interrupted, so he wrote a few down, and started writing short stories about them. Then, just a month ago, he decided he would take some of the ideas and people from his short stories, and write a full novel. Unfortunately, he had deleted more words than he had written… but it was fun nevertheless.

He spent the entire next day in his room, thinking about his story and what should come after the big fight between the hero, and the pirate lord who had the love of his life captured and suspended from the mast. Before he knew it, it was dark outside, and his dad poked his head in to remind him about the party. Arnold had no idea what he was supposed to wear, so he pulled on a red t-shirt, got out his sneakers, and just so he didn't look like a stereotypical little kid, he put on some black cargo pants. The only thing he never changed about his look was the little blue hat his parents gave him. It didn't mean as much now that they were back, but he still liked to keep it as a good luck charm. He took the shortcut to Gerald's house and was amazed to see a crowd of at least fifty or sixty kids from all over the city in a cluster outside Gerald's front door. Up on the top step, beaming at the crowd like he was the greatest thing alive, was his friend…

"Why did you invite so many people?" Arnold asked Gerald after shoving his way through the crowd and up the steps to his best friend.

"You'll see Arnold… I'm just waiting for a signal that the party is ready to start, and then you'll see why I had so many people brought out."

No sooner had he finished talking than a single firework exploded in the sky from the direction of Mighty Pete.

"Alright people listen up!" Gerald shouted into a megaphone, "Now that the site is ready, let's go!" and he took off cheering, the crowd following blindly down the block and across the street. Sure enough, there at Mighty Pete's lot was a huge buffet table with all kinds of snacks, there was a rubber dance mat laid on the grass, and up at one of the windows of the old clubhouse was Brainy with a set of headphones and a DJ kit. The speakers were actually hung in the branches.

"No freaking way…" Arnold said, stunned at what Gerald had pulled off.

"You glad you showed up now?" he asked, smiling and gesturing to the crow of preteens already taking to the snacks and the dance floor as Brainy dropped a heavy dance song over the speakers.

"Yeah… but how the heck did you manage to get all this out here?" Arnold replied, staring dumbfounded at the work put into the whole setting.

"I helped." Phoebe said, materializing behind the boys and hugging Gerald tightly, "The AV teacher owed me a few favors, and I decided Gerald could put it to good use for an end of summer party.

"And did I deliver or what?" Gerald said, pulling Phoebe in tight and kissing her quickly, making her giggle and Arnold blush and look away.

Arnold heard a voice behind him say "Get a room you two." And he turned to look at none other than a very changed Helga Pataki… at least that's who he assumed it was.

"What are you gawking at football head?" she asked.

_Definitely Helga…_ he thought, "Nothing, you just look so different." He commented, being honest.

"You kind of changed there yourself." She replied, putting her arms on her hips and looking him up and down. "I don't have to look down to talk to you anymore."

It was true, Arnold had so far been lucky, all his growth spurts being evenly distributed so that he was now about an inch taller than Helga without looking like a scarecrow, and with wide enough shoulders that his head at least looked a little less oblong.

"Well… we'd love to stick around for the reunion, but I hear a song out there calling my name." Phoebe said, dragging Gerald off into the crowd.

"Wow… I think that's the first time I've seen her drag someone anywhere." Helga remarked, looking around at the crowd, trying not to stare at the newer, if possible, hotter Arnold.

"I think they're cute together…" Arnold said, nudging her with his elbow, "I mean, have you ever seen either of them that happy?"

"Hmmm… I think Phoebe once… but that may have been because they mislabeled a 100 for a 110 on her math test."

"Ha ha Helga… you know what I meant." Arnold said, smirking, "Hey, how come you're not in the crowd? You must have all kinds of guys going after you…"

_All but the one I want…_ she thought, making up a lie, "I just don't dance that much… It's not me you know?"

"Yeah… I can understand that…" Arnold agreed, "Still… I'll bet you're better than me."

"Is that a challenge Arnoldo?" She asked, raising one eyebrow at the thought of a dance contest between the two of them.

"Only if you're not scared." He answered, winking at her and wading into the crowd, heading for the already crowded dance floor.

"Oh it is ON!"Helga said, pushing kids out of her way as she followed, excited not only by a competition, but the idea of dancing with Arnold.

They made their way to the middle of the cluster of kids on the dance floor and started dancing. Arnold shifted his body like it was liquid to the beat, spinning like a pop star, and grabbing Helga by the hands and spinning her around until they were attracting attention from the rest of the crowd, who slowly made more space for them. Luckily, he had danced a few times before this, so he had a sense of rhythm, and Helga was surprisingly good at following his lead for some of the more difficult partner moves. After the first song ended, they had a decent size bubble around them with people watching the couple in the center.

"My turn to lead." Helga said, grabbing his waist and throwing him roughly around in a sort of reversed tango mixed in with almost an obscene amount of body rolls and hip thrusts. The boys in the crowd were cheering their heads off at the show, and Arnold was determined to keep them away from Helga, so he grabbed her waist and twirled her around again, this time moving her around from behind, unintentionally grinding against her and ending the show with a dip so far down that she almost hit her head on the ground. As the second song ended, Brainy came over the speakers and announced that the next song was for couples, "so grab a partner and let your freak flag fly" he instructed, his nasally voice having changed slightly over the last year.

"You're a lot better than I remember." Arnold commented, pulling Helga close for the slow song, a remix of Bittersweet Symphony.

"Yeah… you surprised me too." Helga said, blushing, still unable to believe she had just gotten so close to Arnold, and she was getting closer still without freaking out.

"Heh… you surprised me even before we started dancing." He said staring into her eyes.

"Oh? How so?" she asked, getting closer as people started to yell for a new song.

"You're… different… not bad, just different."

"That's helpful." She remarked sarcastically, smirking at him and pushing him back slightly to keep her heart rate in check.

"It's not just the way you look… you seem like a different person… you're nicer now." He remarked, letting go except for one of her hands and dragging her through the crowd.

"Sorry about that." He apologized when they were sitting safely on a bench near the food table, "But I was losing my mind in that crowd."

"Yeah… me too." She lied, knowing full well that it wasn't the crowd that was getting to her.

They sat there in silence for awhile, watching the people move in and out of the crowd, listening to the music, and occasionally tapping their hands on the bench in time to the beat. Eventually, Gerald and a very flustered Phoebe rushed over, sliding down next to them, grinning like lunatics.

"Did you guys hear that there's going to be an after party for some of us?" Gerald asked, nudging Arnold.

"Isn't this party still going on?" Arnold said, confused by his friends sudden excitement over something so trivial.

"Yeah, but we have to clear out of here by midnight or else the folks in the buildings around us are going to call the cops. I have some very persuasive people ready to help clear the crowd out of here by then, but afterwards, some friends of ours and us are going to actually go up into Mighty Pete and play a few games." Gerald said, hugging Phoebe tight.

"And don't try and say no Arnold… I already called your dad, he said you just have to be home by dawn." Phoebe interjected, sticking her tongue out when Arnold looked offended by the fact that she had gone over his head.

Helga laughed maniacally at the thought of Arnold being forced to have fun, then said that she'd be game to stay later.

"Bob and Miriam won't care when I get back… I doubt they notice when I'm even around." She said.

"Are they still hung up on the idea that your sister is perfect?" Arnold asked.

"Kind of… My dad still thinks that she's the gold standard for kids to be held to… and I'm no Olga." She admitted sadly, frowning at the unpleasant memories of trying to live up to her sisters record.

"I think it's cool that you're making your own mark." Arnold said, so quietly that she almost missed it.

They spent the rest of the party alternating between dancing, and sitting down with some water and talking about how their summers had been. Finally, the clock struck 11:50 and the "Persuasive people" Gerald mentioned, who turned out to be his brother's high school football buddies, cleared out the middle school crowd, occasionally having to pick up some of the larger eighth graders, but in the end, the lot's population was down to Arnold's and Helga's class. After doing a quick sweep for trash, everyone filed up the old rope ladder into the familiar tree house with its busted down seats and rotting roof. the only new thing new in to tree was the DJ station that Brainy had set up for the dance and was now putting away.

Everyone sat in a circle, Gerald standing in the middle, beaming at everyone. "How did you guys like my little summer finale?" he asked, turning to face everyone in turn.

They cheered and whooped it up, Harold even letting out a sarcastic remark about Gerald for President. But he finally got the small group under control again.

"Now… I know you're all expecting something really intense for an after party, but I thought that instead of that, we'd all do something we haven't done in a few years…" and with that being said, he pulled out an empty glass bottle.

Some of the girls gasped a bit, and some of the boys looked confused, but Gerald just kept smiling.

"We're going to play some games… just to see how much people have changed. Remember, some of us went to different schools this year, Harold, Stinky, Sid, I'm looking at you three."

"What lame game are we playing first then, O' Great One?" Rhonda asked, trying to look sophisticated, sitting in a busted lawn chair.

"Well… we have two options, truth or dare, or spin the bottle. And since we all know each other… I figured you'd rather start off with Truth or Dare." Gerald replied, winking at Phoebe. Helga got the impression that she had come up with the idea.

"You all know the rules." He went on, "We all take turns asking truth or dare. Who we ask is decided by a bottle spin. I'll start…" and with that he spun the bottle. It landed on Rhonda.

"Truth or Dare beauty queen?" he asked, taking his seat next to Arnold.

"Truth obviously... I have nothing to hide." She answered snootily.

"Okay. Is it true that you blew the eighth grade QB after their last home game?" Gerald asked, going right for the throat and setting the mood for the game.

Rhonda blushed and looked around, suddenly aware of all the eyes on her, "I-I would NEVER!" she stammered, "I mean… he's cute and all… but I'd never do something so base as THAT!"

"Now you know that if you lie, and someone knows about it, that you get a punch on the arm from the people to your right and left?" Gerald asked, indicating Harold and Big Pattie sitting next to her.

"Uhhh… I may have fooled around a little bit… but it doesn't count if you just kiss it right?" she said, looking around and looking more embarrassed than she had ever looked before.

"Alright… next spin goes to you Brainy…" Gerald said, satisfied with the answer and passing the bottle to his left.

As the bottle made its way around the room, the dares became more and more daring, and the truths became juicier. After about half of the people had spun, Harold had been made to do the truffle shuffle, Eugene had been dared to kiss Stinky, and everyone found out that Nadine had actually eaten a live beetle when she was 8, and those were the tame ones. The wild ones included Curley hanging upside down by a branch over the open ground for a minute, Big Pattie having to take a sip of a cup filled with everyone's spit (Curley was the one who dared that), and then of course, Sid admitted to having a crush on Olga when they were in the fourth grade (Helga punched him in the chest for that one…) finally, the bottle reached Stinky. When he spun, the bottled pointed dead at Helga, who chose Dare.

"I dare you to spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on, you have to do seven minutes in heaven with." He said in his awkward drawl.

She gulped, swallowing her nerves, and spun the bottle. When it stopped, everyone gasped, and she looked at it pointing straight at Arnold.

_**Sorry about the obvious ending… but to be honest, it's late, and I promise I have a plan for this that isn't what you think. I'm trying to write a chapter a day, but the WIFI signal out here is not something I can easily reach as often as I wish… anyways, I hope you enjoyed this rather long chapter, hopefully you read everything, and hopefully, you'll see fit to leave a review. Tell me what you think. It doesn't matter if you have an account or not. The part of the story where they're preteens is coming to a close, look for the next few installments over the course of the week. I hope you are all well…**_

_**Happy Living,**_

_**musicalreader**_


	10. Chapter 10

Twisted Paths

Part 10

_Oh shit… why do you hate me so, fate? _Helga thought to herself, shooting Stinky the worst kind of death glare she could imagine.

"Come on now Stinky… don't you think that's a little too much?" Eugene asked, "A single kiss is one thing, but seven minutes?"

"I kinda have to agree with the ginger." Curly said, looking around, "Seven minutes, especially with those two… is a little much."

"I just think it's odd that I don't hear either of them complaining." Rhonda noted, indicating Arnold and Helga.

Sure enough, neither of them was saying anything. Rather than raising a fuss, Arnold was actually standing up and crossing the circle to Helga. He offered her his hand and started to lead her to a small space with a curtain at the back of the tree house. Just as he was about to close the curtains though, everyone heard a car pull up outside the lot the tree was in and whoever was driving it honked the horn furiously.

"Arnold!" Miles yelled from the ground. "Come out here now!"

"I thought you said he was cool with the after party idea…" he muttered to Gerald as he started to climb down the rope ladder.

"He was… maybe something happened at the boarding house?" Gerald offered, climbing down after him, accompanied by Phoebe and Helga, who looked vaguely disappointed at missing out on seven minutes in heaven.

When they got to the ground, it was obvious that something was wrong. For one thing, Miles smile, which seemed to be a permanent feature, was gone. He didn't look angry… he looked worried.

"What is it dad?" Arnold asked, running from the tree to the Packard, which was still running, his friends close behind.

"We need to get to the hospital right now… I just got a call." Was all he said, "Everyone in if you're coming with us, hurry up."

"Shit." Arnold swore under his breath, it could not have been a good thing that his dad wasn't even speaking in complete sentences.

"You heard the man!" Gerald ordered, taking charge of the three tag-alongs, "Get in the car!"

They all piled in, Arnold in shotgun, everyone else in back, and they took off down the street towards downtown. The needle never dipped below forty miles an hour, and Helga was pretty sure that they blew through at least three red lights. How they didn't have a cop on their tail was beyond her. Finally, after an awkward twenty minute drive in complete silence, the Packard pulled up to the Hospital Entrance. Miles killed the engine, opened the door, and ran up the steps, Arnold close behind him, leaving Gerald, Phoebe, and Helga to lock up and follow.

They were nowhere in sight when they went in the front doors to the hospital, so Gerald went up to the receptionist and asked if she had seen a kid with a football shaped head. She directed them to the third floor, west wing.

They got there as fast as they could, and found Arnold and Miles pacing outside one of the rooms with the door closed.

"What happened man?" Gerald asked, stopping Arnold by grabbing his shoulders.

"My mom… something happened to my mom." Arnold replied, looking up with tears in his eyes.

"She's fine… we're both doctors… we would have caught anything if it was bad…" Miles was muttering to himself, pacing up and down the linoleum hallway, grabbing any passing orderly to ask if they knew anything about Stella Shortman.

"Relax man… my dad was in the hospital one time… it wasn't anything big… she'll be fine." Gerald said, trying to cheer up his friend.

"I… I don't know what happened Gerald… neither does my dad…"

"She might just have gotten tired and collapsed Arnold." Phoebe suggested, "Something harmless that they just send you to the hospital for a little bit… I'm sure she'll be fine."

Just then, a doctor rounded the corner with a clipboard. He stopped outside the closed door and asked if any of them were Stella's family.

"I'm her husband, and this is our son." Miles said, putting a hand on Arnold's shoulder, "Can you tell us anything at all?"

"It's hospital policy to only discuss things with the family, so if you will please step into the room with your wife Mr. Shortman, we'll go over the results of the tests we ran when she was admitted." The doctor said, a line he had probably had to say countless times to countless people.

The three of them went into Stella's room, leaving Gerald, Phoebe, and Helga stand in the hallway and worry. Eventually, the silence got to be too much for Gerald, and he started to try and make conversation.

"So why'd you come along Helga?" he asked, "Afraid that if you stayed at the tree house you'd have to spin the bottle again?"

"Shut up Gerald…" Phoebe said quietly, "Don't start anything tonight."

"I'm not starting anything… I'm just curious how Arnold's biggest bully ended up riding over here to see his mom in the hospital."

"It's alright Pheebs… it's a serious question… and I think i may as well explain." Helga said, looking up from the floor and into Gerald's eyes so that he could see the truth behind them.

"Arnold's parents were lost for years in the jungle. But he wasn't alone… he had his grandparents, and he had the boarders… I didn't even have that." She said, "I still don't. His parents are the first adults I've met who give a crap about me. They've had me over for dinner without even knowing me except by sight. They cared about what was going on at my house when things were bad. To top it all off, they've acted more like parents to me in the short time I've known them than my parents have ever been… My mom drinks on a constant basis, my dad only seems to notice me when I do something Olga already did, and my sister has me in a perpetual shadow of perfection… Now do you know why I'm worried about Arnolds mom?"

"Dang Helga… I didn't know they meant that much to you." he said, trying to find the words to apologize.

"That whole family means more to me than my own…" Helga said finally, a tear streaking down her cheek, Phoebe rushing forward to hug her until she calmed down.

"I guess we just wait and hope for the best then…" Gerald said, sliding his back down the wall until he was sitting, the steady hum of hospital equipment putting him into a trance.

Finally, the door to the room opened, the doctor coming out and looking at the three kids sitting in the hallway.

"If you'd like… you can go in and see them now…" he offered, opening the door.

Helga bolted through the doorway, followed quickly by the other two, all three stopping when they saw Stella lying in a bed, unconscious and hooked up to an IV and several machines. Miles was kneeling on the floor, holding his wife's hand in his own, and Arnold was sitting in a chair in the corner, his head in his hands and visibly shaking.

"Arnold!" Helga exclaimed, rushing over to him, "What is it? Is she going to be alright?"

He shook his head, tears dropping and soaking into his shirt as they dripped down his chin. He tried to breathe deeply, but couldn't get out more than a few syllables before sobbing again.

"Miles!" Gerald said, putting his hand on the man's broad shoulders, "What happened?"

Arnold's dad stood up, trying to keep his composure, and spoke…

"Stella is sick… they don't know what… but it's slowly shutting down her organs. They said that unless something miraculous happens soon… she won't make it to next week…"

At that point, he lost it and collapsed on the floor. Gerald and Phoebe helps him to a seat and pushed him next to his wife. Arnold meanwhile, was being dragged up out of his seat by Helga.

"Don't make me leave!" he screamed, fighting her at every moment, "I won't lose her again!"

"I'm not going to make you leave her Arnold…" Helga said softly, "I don't want to lose her either…"

And with that, Helga pulled Arnolds shaking, sobbing frame towards her and hugged him tightly, knowing the chill of loneliness and trying to help warm him up with the same kindness he had showed her so many times before. She rubbed his back and whispered into his ear that Stella would be alright. Everything would be fine…

Gerald watched in awe at the sight of Helga comforting Arnold, but Phoebe just took his hand and walked the two of them slowly out of the room and down to the lobby.

"Did I seriously just see her _hugging_ Arnold?" he asked, when they were down on the bottom floor.

"She loves that family Gerald… and she cares about them more than you could ever know…"

Helga held Arnold close, the two of them sharing a seat. She never left his side, even when he had cried himself to sleep, she stayed where she was, her arms around his shoulders, holding him tight, knowing that he would need every bit of kindness and love he could get until this ordeal was through.

_**Sorry you had to read that… you have no idea how hard it is for me to write tragic events… hopefully that sounded realistic in terms of reactions. The next chapter will be up tomorrow… or it may already be up, it all depends on how fast I can type after this. I hope you'll bear with me in the meantime… I hope you all are well, and I hope your families are in good shape.**_

_**Happy Living,**_

_**musicalreader**_


	11. Chapter 11

Twisted Paths

Part 11

"Okay Gerald… Why did you call us out here now? Are we having another party?" Harold asked, sitting on the bench in Gerald Field.

"Please Harold… not right now man…" Gerald said humorlessly, "How many of you know what happened last night with Arnold?"

No one raised their hand. Gerald sighed and continued, "Alright then… just so everyone knows, last night, Arnold's mom collapsed and they took her to the hospital… when they admitted her, they ran some tests, and unless something big happens soon with her… she's not gonna be around much longer."

Everyone started muttering to themselves, finally, Curly spoke up.

"That's sad and all… but what does this have to do with us?" he asked.

"Arnold has always been there for us." Gerald said, staring straight at the weirdest kid in the group, "I think it's about time we repaid the favor… His dad and him are going to be at the hospital for most of the next week. I want us to all agree to help out however we can to make it easier for them. This might mean helping his grandparents run errands, bringing Arnold and his dad some food… just anything really… we need to try and help him out for everything he's done for us."

There was a general agreement that his suggestion sounded reasonable, but unfortunately, no one could think of anything to do to help aside from the occasional food run. Nevertheless, everyone agreed to help out however they could. With the group consensus, Gerald let them all go. As they left, he noticed a missing face.

"Where's Helga?" he asked Phoebe.

"She's at the hospital." She answered.

"Still?" Gerald asked.

"I think so… I went to her house this morning to see if she was up, and Bob said she had called from the hospital."

"Did she even go home last night?"

"I doubt it… I asked the same question, and her parents didn't know she had left for the party last night."

"Jesus… Do her parents even care?" Gerald wondered out loud. "Okay… so she's probably going to stay there for awhile then?"

"I believe that would be her intention." Phoebe agreed, "Should we check on them today? Maybe one of us arrange to stay with them while she goes home to rest for a bit?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me. I'll take the first shift." Gerald said, getting up and walking to his house to leave a note. Phoebe meanwhile, went home to try and sleep. She had been awake since they left the hospital last night. It was already close to noon, and the fatigue was getting to her… she could only imagine what was happening with Arnold and his dad…

Arnold woke up from a nightmare that hadn't plagued him for years… in it, he was a small child, about five, and he was walking in a strange dark forest. There was a path in front of him, and a light in the distance where the path opened out of the woods. He walked towards it, but every step made the exit grow smaller. Still he ran towards it, trying to escape… suddenly, two silhouettes, one male and the other female appeared in the exit. He called out for them to help him, but all they did was stand there, their unseen eyes burning into him. He cried out for his Mom and Dad to help him, but slowly, like the exit from the evil forest, hey too faded out of sight, leaving him alone in the forest, surrounded by shadows that slowly engulfed him, smothering him in a dark heavy atmosphere that suffocated him. He lurched forward in his sleep and woke up back in the hospital, relief that the nightmare was over short lived as the reality of where he was came crashing down around him.

"Mom… what happened?" he asked the quiet room, everyone still asleep. He was distinctly aware of a warmth at his side, and when he looked to see what it was, he could make out a blonde head of hair. When he tried to get out from under her arms, she stirred.

"Arnold?" she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "What are you trying to do?"

"Uhhh…" he stammered, trying to come up with words that could accurately describe everything going through his head.

"Oh… sorry… you probably have to get up huh?" Helga said, removing her arms from around him and getting up so that he had space, "Do you need anything?" she offered.

"No… it's fine Helga… I think I just need to be alone for a little bit… where's my dad?" he replied, looking at the empty seat his dad had occupied last night.

"I think he's already up." She guessed, shrugging, "Are you sure you don't want me to bring you something to eat?"

"Seriously Helga… leave me alone for a bit." He snapped, making her jump slightly.

"Okay Arnold… I'll be outside if you need me…"

When the door was closed after her, Arnold immediately felt guilty about snapping at her, then he looked back to his mom, still unconscious and breathing shallow… he looked at some of the machines she was hooked up to and watched her heart rate on one of the screens. It wasn't fair… they had barely had time together… now they were going to be torn apart….

His dad came into the room a few minutes later to find his son sitting and staring at Stella. He sighed and walked over to him, handing him a cup of coffee.

"She's going to be okay." he promised, "We've been through worse together… she'll beat this, you'll see…"

"Do you mean that dad?" Arnold asked, not moving his gaze, "Or are you just trying to give out false hope?"

"I don't even know anymore Arnold…" Miles sighed, drinking from his own cup, "We're both doctors… and we've each seen some pretty nasty stuff… but this is new."

"Should we start making plans?" Arnold asked, angry at himself for suggesting something like that.

"I wouldn't start counting me out yet…" Stella said quietly, startling both of the boys in the room, "I'm not dead yet."

"Mom!"

"Stella!"

Both Arnold and Miles rushed the bed, hugging her tightly.

"Oooff… Boys, boys… air!" she gasped, trying to breathe through the smothering show of affection.

"Sorry mom." Arnold apologized, loosening his grip, "I didn't know if you were going to wake up."

"Well sweetie…" she whispered, "I said I'd always be there for you…. and I'm not letting a little bug get in the way of that… I actually woke up early this morning. You were both asleep, and honey, your little friend Helga was keeping you company… you should thank her."

"Sure mom… I'll go do that now." Arnold said, leaving the room at least a little less concerned.

When the door shut, Stella turned to Miles, "I want you to promise to take good care of our son." She said sternly, grabbing his arm.

"Babe, I'm not letting you off this rock that easily. You're going to pull through this and we're both going to see him grow up together. Do you understand?" he replied, not letting her give up on herself.

"I read the report on the tests… systematic organ failure Miles. Let's face it, I'll be under some heavy medication for the pain the next few days, and if I'm not already dead by then, they'll be sure to do something so I won't have any last moments with Arnold… I want you to promise."

"Fine… I promise to take care of him, not that I should have to promise, you're getting out of here soon Stella. And it'll be with Me and Arnold in a car ride home."

"Thank you Miles…" Stella said, leaning back onto her mattress

"Now you promise me something… I want you to fight this every moment until you're better."

Stella grinned up at her husband and laughed weakly, "Fine… I just hope that it's worth the strain."

They shared a tense laugh and got quieter as Arnold came back in to tell them that Helga had already left.

"Well go invite her back silly." His mom chided, smiling, "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon… I promise."

"Alright… I'll be back later." He said, leaving the adults to talk about what would happen next…

"He's really taking this hard Phoebe…" Helga said over the phone, thinking back about an hour at the hospital when she had seen the usually cool Arnold completely snap.

"I'm sure it's perfectly normal given the circumstances" her friend replied, "I mean… now would you react if you found out your mother may die within a week?"

"Hmmm… Not sure if I'd even notice to be honest." Helga answered, "But that's not the point… what are we going to do?"

"Gerald and the others have agreed to bring Arnold and Miles food while they're at the hospital with Stella, and Rhonda said something about calling in a few favors after most of the group had left… I think that what he needs right now though, is a friend just to be there."

"He has Gerald for that though… how can I possibly help him out?" she wondered out loud, just as someone knocked at her door, "I'll have to call you back later Phoebe, someone's at the front door…"

Hey Helga…" Arnold said when she opened the door, "Sorry about this morning. I was just… I don't know…"

"Hey, it's okay football head." She said smiling, "I totally get what happened… but I'm worried about you, you know?"

"Well thanks for the concern… but I think I'm fine for now… oh, and my mom wants you to come back and visit." He said, trying to change the subject from his feelings to something less awkward.

"No problem… I don't have any plans until school starts… I can visit everyday if you'd like. I'll keep you company, make sure you guys are comfortable… or I could just be there to talk to if you need it." she offered, rubbing her arm nervously, looking down.

"You know… I think I'd like that… and mom seems to really like you." Arnold answered, surprising her.

"Really? Well that's good… your mom has actually been more of a mom to me than Miriam…" she admitted, immediately wishing she hadn't spilled that little tidbit of her personal life.

"That's too bad… for Miriam… mom always says you're a sweet girl who should come over more often…" he said, also looking down now, "Anyway, I'm heading back to the hospital now… want to come with me?"

"I think I'll go with you." she said smiling, "Now let's get going and keep your mom company in that creepy hospital."

They took off for the bus stop and talked about the crazy events at the party the entire ride to the hospital. When they got there, they found out that only family was allowed to stay in the rooms for more than two hours, but that problem was solved when Miles came out of the elevator and told the nurse that Helga was family.

"Where are you going dad?" Arnold asked.

"Your mom wants me to run a few errands, she said not to worry when you go into the room either, she's just taking a nap… You kids take care okay?" he, hugging his son and rushing out the entrance.

Arnold and Helga walked up to Stella's room to find her asleep in her bed. They weren't sure what to do, but ended up playing cards in the room quietly until she woke up a couple hours later.

"Mmmmm… Oh, hey you two." She said, stretching and smiling, "And how are you doing Helga? It's been a while since you came over for dinner."

"Sorry about that Mrs. Shortman… If it helps, I plan on having dinner with you a lot more." Helga said apologetically, shooting a questioning look at Arnold.

"I think that sounds great." Arnold agreed.

"Well… I'm afraid your dad won't be able to come to dinner tonight…" Stella said, "I have him running some… errands… But your grandparents said they'd watch me during lunch, so why don't the two of you take a break from this creepy place and go have some fun until about five?"

"Are you sure about that mom?" Arnold asked worriedly, "What if something happens to you?"

"I have a button I can press if something happens. I'll be fine honey, just go have some fun… you're about to start school again, go make the most of your summer." Stella pressed, shooing the two of them out of the room smiling. Arnold gave her a hug and a kiss before leaving and closing the door behind him.

"Think we should actually leave?" Helga asked, looking at Arnold's worried look.

"She wants us to leave the hospital for a bit… and there's no changing her mind about some things… we may as well do something." he said defeatedly. "Besides… she slipped me a ten, so let's go get some real food."

"Okay…" was all she could say when she realized that Arnold was taking her to lunch.

The next few days continued much the same. Helga and Arnold would meet at the hospital in the morning, sometimes his dad would be there, and they would all keep Stella company by talking, or playing board games or cards. Helga tried not to talk too much, after all, it wasn't her family, even if she was treated like it was. Every day though, Stella seemed to grow weaker and be in slightly more pain… Her happy smile grew dimmer, and her eyes were now barely open even when she was wide awake. The P.S. 118 gang stopped by at least once a day to bring them some food that didn't taste like it was sterilized in bleach, and sometimes they would stay and tell stories about all the crazy things that Arnold had done while his parents were in San Lorenzo. Five days after Stella was admitted, she seemed to make a slight improvement, but that was only because they had her on a different set of painkillers. Dinner that night consisted of Arnold, Stella, Miles, and Helga sitting around a small table in the corner of the room eating a ham Mr. Greene had donated.

"I still can't believe that your dad was more interested in your sisters piano skills than getting you to school." Miles said, after Helga had told the story of how she first met Arnold.

"Yeah… that was one of the worst days in my life… but Arnold was there just smiling away." She said, nudging him with her elbow and making him blush.

"Well I think it's sweet that he turned out to be so chivalrous while we were away." Stella said, taking another bite of ham, "And this is delicious… you said Mr. Greene smokes these himself?"

"As far as anyone knows, he kills the animals himself." Arnold joked, getting a laugh out of everyone.

"I doubt he kills them." Miles said, still laughing a bit, "But it is good food… What do you think Honey?" he asked, turning to his wife.

"Mhmm…" she agreed, "I'm just glad you all are here every night… it gets really quiet sometimes… and I hear the other patients talking about how sad it can be when you don't have any visitors."

"We'd never let you eat alone Mrs. Shortman." Helga said, smiling, "Don't forget to drink lots of water…"

"Yes mom." Stella joked, suddenly frowning, "but dang this stuff is kind of dry…"

"Dry? Mom, it's dripping juices… are you feeling alright?" Arnold said, looking concerned, "Mom?"

Stella never answered, instead, her eyes rolled into the back of her skull and she slumped over the table, spilling the pitcher of water. Arnold and Helga rushed out the door to call for a nurse, and Miles dashed to his wife's side to sit her up and check her vitals. A pair of doctors came rushing in, followed by several nurses, they lifted her up back onto her bed and hooked her up to a mobile machine with a tiny readout screen. The doctors looked at it, frowning, for a few seconds. They then called out some kind of code on the intercom, moving her to a mobile cart and rushing her out the door. Arnold and Miles tried to follow, but the nurses said to wait here until they were called by the doctor. This left Miles, Arnold, and Helga alone in an empty room to only guess at what had happened.

"Come on Arnold…" Helga prompted, "I don't think it's a good idea to just wait around here."

"I can't leave… what if something happens?" he said back angrily, pulling his arm from her grip, "I'm not leaving her!"

"Son…" Miles said quietly, putting an arm on his shoulder, "I agree with Helga. I'll wait here if something happens… but I want you to take a breather for a little while… go with her and don't worry… your mom promised she'd be fine…"

"Dad…" Arnold said sadly, looking up into his face, "I don't want to leave…"

"I'm telling you Arnold… take a break… she'll be fine."

"Come on…" Helga said gently, putting her arms around his shoulders and steering him slowly towards the door.

The door closed behind them and Arnold saw his dad sit on Stella's bed through the window, cupping his head in his hands and hunching over as if in pain. Helga steered him towards the elevator and walked him out the main entrance, directing him on a path to who knew where. They walked down the sidewalk in silence for awhile, finally, Helga stopped and pulled Arnold into a small alley.

"She's going to be alright." She said, quietly, "But I know how much this has got to be hurting you… if you need to let anything out, this is as good a place as any." She said, gesturing to the empty space lined with bricks and trash.

"I can't…" he said, slumping against the wall and sliding down, "I can't be sad right now… that means I've given up… I can't give up Helga." He said, looking at her with tears starting to form in his eyes. she knelt in front of him and grabbed his hands away from his face.

"Hey… look at me Arnold Shortman… If you think you're the only one hurting right now, you're wrong. But you're the one probably hurting the most… even your dad probably can't guess how you must be feeling… and I won't pretend to… But I know that when a parent leaves you, it hurts like a bitch… and I know that sometimes, it helps a lot to just let out whatever you're feeling…" She told him firmly. "It doesn't mean you're weak, or that you give up… it means that you're human… and it means you can feel."

Arnold's face was streaked with tears at this point, listening to Helga, it was like she could see inside him and feel what he did… "I-I don't want her to go…" he said, his voice cracking with emotion… I barely know her… She's my mom, and we barely spent time together… She can't leave me!" he yelled, standing up and slamming his fist against the bricks. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

"I know it's not fair… but she'll be fine, you'll see…" Helga said, trying to comfort him. "Just let it all out."

"I LOVE HER! EVERYTHING I LOVE IS TAKEN FROM ME! THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT ME GOING WHEN THEY WERE GONE WAS THE THOUGHT THAT WE'D BE TOGETHER SOMEDAY. BUT NO! NOW SHE'S _DYING_ AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO!"

He was breathing deep and ragged by this point, red in the face form screaming at the top of his lungs, his fists were red and raw from hitting the bricks, and his tears had left shiny trails down his cheeks. He sat down and pulled his knees to his chest, weeping. "I don't want to lose her again…" he whispered hoarsely.

She knelt on the ground next to him and wrapped her arms around his shaking frame, pulling him close and rocking gently, trying to calm him down…

"I know you love her… I'm worried too… but you have to trust me when I say that she's going to be alright…" she murmured, stroking his hair and holding him tightly, completely aware of his every heartbeat and his warm body pressed so close to hers.

"How can you say that?" he asked, looking up slightly, trying to see her face, "How can you keep telling me she'll be fine when she could be de…dead…tomorrow?"

"Because I know your family… if your mom is anything like you, she can get through anything…" she whispered in his ear, still rocking him while he calmed down and actually nuzzled closer to her, his head on her shoulder.

"What if she's not? What if she… can't keep fighting?" he asked, finally showing just how worried he was, "I don't know if I could handle losing her again… either of them…"

"You won't have to… I don't know what will happen, but I know that it's all going to be alright… come on now football head. You're the one who always sees the silver lining…" Helga said, standing up and pulling him up with her, "Now let's get back and see how your mom's doing."

They walked back in silence, but this time, Arnold seemed much calmer, and just to let him know that he wasn't alone, she held his hand gently. He seemed to draw strength from the gesture, and before they knew it, they were standing outside the door to Stella's room once again. The light was on inside, but when they went in, it wasn't Stella, but someone else in her bed.

"Uhhh… who are you?" Helga asked the stranger, "This room is supposed to be Stella Shortman's…"

"Oh… I think the woman before me was moved to a different ward." The stranger replied, smiling weakly, "I think I heard the doctor talking to a tall blonde man a few minutes ago about some kind of observation… they mentioned the Critical Care ward… I'm sorry…"

"Thanks for your help." Helga replied, steering Arnold towards the door, his whole body stiffening at the words _Critical Care_. "Let's go ask the receptionist where she is now…" she suggested.

The pair walked to the front desk and they were indeed referred to the Critical Care ward. The nurse on duty told them how to get there, and off they went. Arnold knew they were in the right place when he saw Miles pacing outside a closed door with a neon sign lit up with the words _Examination In Progress_.

"Dad?" Arnold choked out, "What's going on with mom?"

Miles sighed and sat his son down on a bench with him, "Son… I don't know how to say this… but your mother's condition suddenly deteriorated. She's being given a new batch of drugs… but they said that it was just for making everything feel better… I'm sorry Arnold…" was all he could say before he started crying and hugging his son, who just stared off into space, stunned by the horrible news.

"Can we say goodbye?" Arnold finally asked, fresh tears streaking down his face.

"I think that would be for the best…" a doctor said, coming out of the room, "She's conscious… but we don't know for how much longer…"

Arnold and Miles went into the room, leaving Helga outside leaning against the wall. After about an hour, Miles poked his head out and said that Stella wanted to talk to her.

"Helga… come here sweetie." Stella said, sitting up in bed, the only things about her that indicated she was sick were the pack of tubes sticking out of her arms.

"What did you want to see me about?" Helga asked, looking at Arnold, who sat in the corner watching his mom and not moving.

"Girl things…" she said laughing, "Boys? I'm not going anywhere for a while still… could we have a moment of privacy?"

Miles nodded and helped Arnold up, steering him towards the door, "We'll be right outside." He said before closing the door.

When the door was shut, Stella turned to Helga and smiled warmly. "So do you want to tell me what's going on between you and my son?"

The sudden question caught Helga off guard, and all she could do was open and close her mouth, looking amazingly like a goldfish.

"Heheheh… I'm not trying to scare you I promise… I'm just trying to understand why you spend so much time looking after Arnold." Stella said, trying to ease the tension.

"Well… I guess I… I don't know… It just feels right… being around him feels nice." She stammered out, glowing a bright red.

"Heh, I know what you mean… I still get a fuzzy feeling from Miles… It's a good thing that you two are so close already. It's a good sign." Stella said, "Anything else you want to say? I promise to keep it secret."

"You promise?" Helga asked, wanting to share her secret with Stella, but still nervous.

"I swear, I won't tell a soul." She promised.

"Well… you remember the story I told you about meeting Arnold for the first time?"

"Yes… that was cute…" Stella commented, still smiling.

"My family doesn't really notice me…. They watch my sister and they love her… but I never got any recognition, not even if I was getting in trouble, and having someone care about me… your son was the first person to really give a damn about me… and I love him for it. Actually, I just love him… it's the way he's always cared for others before himself… the way he never gets angry… he's just always been the person to calm me down… and I feel awful about the years I picked on him to hide it." Helga admitted, making Stella the third person in the world who she'd confessed to.

"That's beautiful…" Stella said quietly. "I hope you two can have a future together… I think he feels better when you're around."

"You really think so?" Helga asked

"Definitely… I just hope I'm around to see it."

"Should I go get the boys from outside?" Helga offered, trying to end the awkward moment.

"I think that would be good…" she agreed.

Helga opened the door, trying not to show the blush that was still playing across her cheeks. She sat in the corner of the room while the family talked among themselves. Sometime later (there wasn't a clock in the room) a doctor entered the room and asked to speak to Miles and Stella, so Arnold and Helga were shooed out into the hallway.

"What did you guys talk about?" Arnold asked, once the door was shut behind them.

"Oh you know… things…" Helga bluffed, avoiding the question, "What do you think they're talking about?"

"I hope it's good news." Arnold muttered.

They sat the rest of the time in silence, the doctor eventually coming out with a clipboard and walking over to Arnold.

"Arnold Shortman?" he asked, checking that he had the right person.

"Yes?"

"I was instructed by your mother to tell you what's going to happen. A specialist in the very disease your mother has, has just arrived in the city yesterday. He heard about your mother's illness, and he is coming over tonight to perform a very difficult and new procedure. If it works, she should recover in a matter of weeks, but if it fails… well… I don't think I need to tell you how urgent it is. Your parents have agreed to the procedure, but they wanted your opinion. Will you consent?" He spilled out, handing the clipboard over, which held a legal document with both Miles and Stella's signatures.

He thought about it for a second, and then signed his name next to Stella's. the doctor thanked him and told him that now would be a good time to say goodbye to Stella as she would be anesthetized shortly.

Helga and Arnold walked back into the room to see Miles hugging his wife and crying softly. For the first time, Helga even saw Stella cry a little.

"Arnold." She said, holding out her arms, "Come here baby… just in case…"

He didn't need any prodding, Arnold practically ran into his mom's arms, holding her tightly and kissing her on the cheek one last time before a group of orderlies came in with the moving table and an IV drip of sedative. As she was leaving, Stella reached out an arm towards Helga and said, "Remember what I said… take care…" and with that, she was whisked out of the room and off to the O.R.

Arnold and Helga were told that the operation would most likely last for hours. So they decided to go home. Helga asked if she could spend the night, to which Miles just nodded and drove them all back to the boarding house. The hospital said that they would call if there was any development, but the first hour after surgery was critical, so Miles told Arnold and Helga to go to bed while he waited for news from the hospital.

Helga agreed to sleep on the couch in Arnold's room, and she tried not to look while he changed (not that she hadn't already seen him naked while trying to kill a parrot years ago)

"Helga?" Arnold said from his bed when the lights were off.

"Yeah Arnold?" she replied, turning towards his bed.

"Thanks for being there for me this week… I knew you were alot nicer this year, but I really appreciate what you did for us…" he said, yawning, trying to fight off sleep.

"I was happy… I know what it's like to need someone there for you." she said, nodding off. Falling asleep before he could respond to her cryptic statement.

They woke up the next morning to Miles screaming at the top of his lungs downstairs. Both kids jumped out of bed and rushed downstairs to the main room and saw him on his knees, crying, the phone dropped only feet away from him. Arnold ran forward trying to help his dad up and find out the news. When they finally got him sitting up on the couch, he looked at his son and grabbed his shoulders.

"They just called… Mom's going to be fine!" he yelled, a broad smile tearing across his face, and tears of joy streaming down his cheeks.

"It worked?" Arnold asked stunned, but a huge smile of his own working its way slowly into existence.

"Yes! They said she's already showing huge improvement… she's going to come home in a week or so…" Miles said, hugging Arnold tightly, then motioning for Helga to join them.

When he finally released them, he got up to run and tell Phil and Gertie, leaving the kids alone to celebrate.

"Well football head… I guess this means OOOHH"

She was interrupted by Arnold rushing her and wrapping her in the tightest hug she had ever experienced. He squeezed the breath out of her and didn't ease up until she tapped his shoulder for air. But even loosening his grip, he didn't let go. She realized eventually that he was weeping, his tears soaking into her shoulder as he held her close, and despite the odd thought of his tears soaking into her clothes, her heart rate sped up and her cheeks flushed.

"Thank you so much…" he whispered into her ear, "I can't thank you enough…"

"Don't mention it football head." She replied, smirking and returning the hug finally, drawing his warmth closer to her heart, "I'll always be here for you…"

_**Well… quite a lot happened there didn't it? Sorry about the sudden change from a short chapter to this behemoth, and for any tears that may have welled up if any… I don't know, you guys let me know what you thought about it.**_

_**This is the final chapter where Arnold and Co. are preteens… the next chapter will take place at the end of summer, and they will 16 years old… actually, Arnold will be 17. Helga and the others will be close to 17… just roll with it.**_

_**Til then,**_

_**musicalreader**_


	12. Chapter 12

Twisted Paths

Part 12

"Are you sure everyone got the message?" Gerald asked, standing next to his best friend Arnold Shortman.

"Yeah Gerald." He replied, "I made sure to tell everyone face to face as well…"

The two friends were standing side by side on the porch of a beach house Arnold's family used in the summer. The sun was setting over the ocean, and they watched as two cars pulled up to the beach house.

"Where's the party?" Rhonda called out, stepping out of the driver's seat of a new BMW.

"Pipe down party queen." Helga said, getting out of the passenger side of the car. "The damn thing doesn't start until sundown anyway…"

The other party goers got out of the cars, in total, there were about 8 teenagers in attendance counting Arnold and Gerald.

Rhonda, the natural drama queen of Carver Public High, who also had the money to back up her status, was wearing a bikini top with a white wrap around her waist. She had grown up to a model's body, with small curves on a tall slender frame. Most of the boys at school openly drooled when she walked past, and she was now not only the most popular girl at school, again, but she was now somewhat more humble after an unexpected pregnancy freshman year that her ex had made her terminate. Ever since then, she had devoted some of her considerable free time to working at a women's shelter, but that didn't stop her from enjoying a good party most weekend nights.

Then there were the rest of the passengers getting out of the cars, Phoebe, Helga, Lila; and the boys, Harold, and Eugene.

Despite the fact that Arnold was well over his crush on Lila Walker, he still had to admit that she was on e of the nicest, prettiest girls in school. She had given up the blue dress she wore in grade school in middle school, and instead wore an assortment of homemade blouses and jeans. One thing everyone still agreed on if they looked too closely at her, was that she was almost too perfect… couple that with the fact that she never dated anyone, led her to go from being popular to just being another face in the crowd, with the exception of her friends.

Phoebe Heyerdahl… The smartest girl at P.S. 118 and P.S. 120, had continued her academic excellence at CPH… the one thing that kept her from moving up grades ahead of schedule was the experience she had years ago as a fourth grader. Gerald and she had been dating since sixth grade, and they were the perfect couple. Plus, Arnold had to admit, Phoebe had turned out well… she had a great figure without even trying, and still maintained an innocent charm. All in all, she had changed the least out of everyone.

Harold on the other hand, had shot up considerably since starting middle school, and it was easy to see why he was the county's best ranked defensive end. He had managed to turn all he fat from his grade school years into muscle, and even more impressive to Arnold, had mellowed out from a bully to a gentle giant… as long as you weren't playing him in football…

Then there was Eugene… in middle school, he had been the butt of most jokes because of his annoyingly sunny disposition, but after finding his place in the drama and dance department in High School, he was one of the most popular kids. To top it all off, he had recently started dating one of the rising senior girls from dance, which totally blew away the assumption that he was gay… not that that stopped him from forming the Gay Straight Alliance, a product of his time being teased, and all in all a very constructive outlet for him.

Last, but certainly not least, was Helga G. Pataki… at one time, she had been the biggest tormentor of Arnold's life. And even worse, she had been a bully the likes of which had scared even older kids into submission when they were younger. Later on, Arnold had learned that her actions were somewhat the result of her un-nurturing home life, she had started to make strides towards being nice in the sixth grade, even going so far as being one of the main pillars of support Arnold had clung to when his mom was close to dying. Since then, she had become one of his best friends, second only to Gerald. And even though she had changed a lot physically before starting seventh grade, she was even more so changed when they started at Carver… she now topped out at five and a half feet tall and 125 pounds of muscle and curves… the resident psycho at school, Curly, had once guessed she was a 36C cup, and was consequently beaten with his own Geometry book until the spine broke… though to be fair, it was easy to get lost in her hips when she walked. But no matter how she may have looked, she continued to dress in comfortable clothes rather than form fitting ones like other girls. She remained a tomboy at heart, and that was probably the charm that got most boys in their grade to fall for her.

"Earth to Arnold…" Gerald said, snapping his friend out of his silent little reverie, "We got six kids here wanting to get started."

"Right… okay, who brought anything to drink?" Arnold asked, looking around at the group.

Helga held up her hand, "I got a cooler of Yeungling I took from my dad's stock." She offered.

"Okay… so we have drinks… Eugene, did you bring any fire wood like I asked?"

"Sure did Arnold!" he responded excitedly, "It's in the trunk with the chairs Harold brought."

"Sweet… then we just need to get the cart and haul this stuff over to the inlet." Arnold said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's go guys."

Harold and Arnold lifted the cooler onto the dune cart Gerald had pulled around to the cars, and Eugene loaded up the chairs on top of everything. Arnold agreed to haul the bundles of wood if someone else would pull the cart.

"Heheh… you got that football head?" Helga asked sarcastically as the group made their way up the beach to the small strip of beach that was used exclusively for fires and parties.

"Yeah… this stuff is a lot lighter than it looks." He answered, grinning at her and admiring the outfit she had worn for the party. Most of the boys were in swim shorts and a t-shirt of some kind, and the girls were in either bikini's or shorts, but Helga's outfit could be really distracting. She had a white t-shirt that was easily two sizes too small on top of blood red bikini bottoms that rode up higher that they were probably supposed to. And to top it off, Arnold was pretty sure that if a cool breeze came along, the group would find out she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Quit staring." She teased, following where his eyes were going, "You need at least two beers to look that gob smacked…"

"I wasn't staring…" Arnold lied, "I was appreciating the lovely scenery… by the way, mom said you should come over again for dinner. Apparently, once every two weeks isn't often enough for her."

"I like your mom." She told him for the millionth time, "She's nice…"

"Yeah… until she finds you trying a swig of her vodka on a dare…" Gerald said, coming up from behind them, "How nice was she after that?" he asked Arnold.

"Shut up man… I was only grounded for a month. Besides, they didn't really enforce it. Dad said it's something that just has to happen to grow up."

"What would they say if they knew we were going to have more than just a few sips tonight?" Rhonda asked, looking back and grinning.

"I'll bet they would try and tell us to wait until we turned legal…" Harold said, "And that we shouldn't download songs for free, and that we should save ourselves until marriage." Harold said in his best mocking voice, "Seriously, why don't they just accept that we're going to try things before we're supposed to?"

"They're just trying to look out for us Harold." Lila interjected, "But I agree… some things are kind of silly."

"There's something you don't expect to hear from miss perfect." Eugene piped in, right before tripping in the sand and barely catching himself.

"Actually… I think that a little cutting loose could be very good for us." Phoebe agreed, taking Gerald's hand, "And besides… it's all harmless fun…"

They eventually reached the strip of sand riddled with fire pits, and not a moment too soon, as the sun was stretching it's last rays across the sky, they got the fire going and cracked open the first round of beer.

They sat around the fire at first just listening to the ocean, but as time stretched on and the beer hit the system of the lightweights, Rhonda, Eugene, Lila and Phoebe, they began talking about the upcoming school year.

"I hope the concert goes better than last year." Eugene noted, when the subject of funny events came up, "Were any of you there?"

Everyone shook their heads, so he told them how, while he was onstage for the finale, a light tree had tipped over, loosening one of the ropes that held the overhead lights, sending an entire steel girder complete with ten pound lights, crashing down to the stage below. The only thing that made the whole thing funny was the fact that they were dancing to the song Ready to Fall by Rise Against.

"I should have seen something like that coming to be honest." Eugene laughed, tossing back the rest of his second beer, "But you know me… I'm always okay in the end."

"Man… one of these days, you're going to be on a plane that crashes, and you'll be the only survivor." Gerald noted, tossing a piece of driftwood onto the fire.

"He's right Eugene… you have the weirdest luck in the world. I'll bet that with the exception of Arnold, you've been in the freakiest mishaps in the history of the city." Rhonda agreed.

"What happened to me?" Arnold asked

"You fell in a pit of stakes man…" Gerald reminded him, talking about the San Lorenzo trip.

"And I helped cover for you while you were off exploring nature." Rhonda said, slurring some of her words.

"Looks like Princess just hit her limit." Helga noted, tossing back her fourth can like it was nothing.

"We can't all stay as sober as you Helga…" Phoebe said, her eyes drooping and her head resting on Gerald's shoulder.

"I don't have control over how much I can hold… I just watch the show while everyone else drops like flies trying to keep up." Helga said, laughing and tossing a piece of dried seaweed into the fire.

After another moment of silence, Harold complained about there not being anything fun to do, so Gerald suggested they resurrect an old game.

"What are you talking about Gerald?" Arnold asked, well aware that his friends good ideas usually ended badly.

"It's called secrets…" Gerald said, standing up and walking around the circle for everyone to see, "We all take turns asking one other person a question. There are no passes, if you don't answer, you're out. And the one who stays in the longest gets to make fun of the others for one week with no payback."

"This sounds like another version of truth or dare Gerald." Harold noted, "I hate that game…"

"Like it or leave big guy." Gerald offered, "I'll choose first… Rhonda."

"What about me?" she asked, still trying to stay upright.

"I want you to tell the circle exactly who was the guy that knocked you up… if you pass, you're out of the game and lose all teasing rights."

"Shit… Do I have to?" she asked, looking around at everyone nodding their heads and grinning, "Fine… but if anyone tells, I'll kill them…"

They all promised not to tell, and she told them that the dad was Thaddeus.

"No fucking way…" Helga said, mouth hanging open in shock, "You jumped Curly's bones?"

"Shut up beer queen…" Rhonda muttered, "My turn to choose someone… Lila."

"Alright" she responded quietly, not even started on her second beer and already falling asleep in her seat

"You don't date any guys at school… are you lesbian?"

"Gosh… I don't know about lesbian… but I do find some girls attractive, and some of the guys are cute too… but I guess I just don't really feel like I _have_ to be with anyone… so I don't date anyone…" Lila admitted, startling Harold.

"You like some of the girls?" he asked, "Which ones? We might have something in common!"

"Mostly it's just the girls from the cheerleading squad…But I believe it's my turn to pick? I want to hear from… Gerald."

"Alright little miss sunshine… what do you want to know?"

"Hmmm… I'm not sure this is enough to really embarrass you… but have you and Phoebe ever had sex?"

"Yes!" Phoebe cheered, giggling, "It was amazing…"

"Baby please… I was supposed to answer…" Gerald chided, hugging her close, "But it was good wasn't it?"

Phoebe smiled and nodded before turning to Eugene and mouthing _Hung like a horse_, which of course made Eugene fall on his ass laughing, which started a huge chain reaction of the lightweights falling off their seats laughing. By the time everyone was back up, Gerald had asked Harold if he had ever looked at a guys junk in the locker room. He didn't answer, and so became the first one out.

"My turn again." Gerald said smugly, "And since I know all of Arnold's secrets… I'll go for you Helga." He said, eyeing the tomboy from across the fire.

"Do your worst…" she challenged.

"Okay… when we were in middle school, there was a rumor that you liked someone… who was it?"

Helga blanched in the firelight, but she never backed down from a challenge, so she swallowed her pride (it helped that some of the beer was finally having an effect), and she told everyone, "I had a huge crush on Arnold…"

"No way!" Rhonda squealed, "You two would have been adorable! What happened? Did you stop liking him?"

"I'm not going o answer that." Helga said defiantly, before she was interrupted by Harold, Eugene, and Gerald all wanting to know the same thing… did she still like him?

Helga tried to block out their incessant whining, but finally, she stood up and practically screamed, "Nothing happened! I loved him then and I still do!"

The circle got eerily quiet and Helga was suddenly aware of just how awkward she had made things with those two sentences. She looked at Arnold, but he was staring intently at the fire, not even blinking.

Gerald could sense the tension and tried to break it by standing up and stretching. When that failed, he took Phoebe's hand and started to lead her back to the beach house.

The others' soon followed his lead, filtering off one by one over the next few minutes until it was just Helga standing across the fire from Arnold. She wanted to speak, but figured that if she did, she'd only make the tension worse, so she too headed off towards the beach house.

_**Well… how was that for a fresh start? New age for the characters, new focus, hopefully, new paths for them to take in life… I hope you all enjoyed this, I'll work on the next chapter as soon as I get some sleep.**_

_**Til next time,**_

_**musicalreader**_


	13. Chapter 13

Twisted Paths

Part 13

Helga kept running through the events of the evening in her head as she got ready to go to sleep. She had told her secret to the one person she swore would never know, her friends also heard the same confession, and to top it all off, instead of staying with Arnold and talking it all out, she had run away like a coward…

"Good job Helga…" she said to herself, staring at the ceiling of her room in the beach house. "What else could happen?"

Well apparently the universe loves a joke, because as soon as she said it, someone knocked on her door.

She silently fumed, but opened the door to see her friend Phoebe standing in the hallway.

"Can I come in Helga?" she asked, rubbing her arms nervously, seeing her friend in her underwear.

"Sure, why not… I was just about to finish changing…" Helga answered, opening the door wider to let her in, shutting it behind them.

"I want to apologize for earlier…" Phoebe said, sitting on the edge of Helga's bed, "I should have tried to sidetrack the conversation away from your secret…"

"Don't sweat it Pheebs… It was bound to happen eventually… better now than later when it might be too late. Besides, Arnold didn't freak out… he just sat there. I'm sure by now he's in bed trying to forget the whole thing." Helga said, trying to convince herself more so than her friend.

"I doubt that…" her friend said cryptically. "I'll bet that he's still out there, thinking about everything... staring at the ocean and remembering everything you two have been together…"

"That's awfully detailed Phoebe… why did you say all that?" Helga asked, walking towards her friend.

"Because I looked out my window and saw him staring at the moon… he hasn't moved." She said matter-of-factly.

"Stalk much?" Helga asked, pulling some pajama bottoms on and throwing on an old t-shirt.

"Are you going to go talk to him?" Phoebe responded, ignoring her question.

"I think I have to Pheebs… wish me luck?" she said, walking towards the door.

"Good luck." Phoebe said, the door closing behind her friend as she stepped into the night.

When she got there, she was surprised to see Arnold had moved from the fireside to the waterline and was now staring at the moon. She crept up behind him careful not disturb him. As she stood about ten feet away, she heard him speak.

"It's so strange…" he said, "That all this time, you've liked me… even when I didn't notice you except as a bully…"

"Yeah… that was mostly me trying to cover up my crush." She admitted, shifting her weight from foot to foot in the sand.

"I thought there was a reason you would be so mean just to me… but then you helped me with my mom when she was sick… was that because you liked me as well?" he asked, looking back at her out of the corner of his eye.

"That was partly because I liked your mom… but mostly because I like you and I wanted to help you deal with the pain…" she said, walking a little closer.

"And did you like me when we were in San Lorenzo?" he asked, this time, facing her fully.

"Yeah… actually, ever since we were three…"

"You've liked me for that long?"

"Not _liked_… I've _loved_ you this whole time Arnold." Helga said, sensing that he wasn't upset.

"I feel like an idiot." He said, looking down and laughing.

"Why?" Helga asked, this time she was the one confused.

"Because… Ever since I first saw how nice you could be… back in the fourth grade… I guess I've liked you too… I didn't realize it though… I covered it up by going after other girls, and then in San Lorenzo I told you the truth… I told myself the truth… and then I tried to cover it up by saying it was a mistake. I can't imagine what that had to have been like for you. I'm sorry Helga." He said, stepping towards her in the moonlight.

"Sorry for what?" she asked, still confused.

"I'm sorry for making you wait… and I'm sorry for not doing this sooner." He said, closing the gap.

"Doing this sooner?" she started to say, but was interrupted by his hands wrapping around her and pulling her close, his body heating hers instantly in the chill night air, their lips pressing together as if they were meant to be there. Her eyes rolled back and her other senses stopped working as she lost herself completely in his warm, tender kiss. She felt as if she was floating, suddenly crashing down when they broke away for air.

"Sorry for being so late with that." He said again, smiling at her, his blonde hair reflecting the moonlight.

"You know what they say." she responded breathlessly, "The best things in life are worth the wait…"

"And you are one of the best things in my life." Arnold said, kissing her again, interrupted only by a flashlight shining over the two of them.

"Told you guys this would happen." Gerald said smugly, turning to face the others, who had been woken up by Phoebe shortly after Helga left to talk to Arnold.

"I'm going to kill him…" Helga muttered into Arnold's chest, hiding her beet red face.

"Gerald… can we have a moment?" Arnold asked.

"Take all the time you guys need." Rhonda said, pulling Gerald by the ear, "I'll make sure they don't interrupt you again."

Arnold and Helga laughed at the sight of Gerald being led away by the ear, and the rest of the group whispering about the kiss they had just seen. Helga was sure that by tomorrow morning, word would have spread to at least the rest of their friends, but for the moment, she was just happy to be with Arnold.

"Where were we?" she asked, looping her arms around his neck an smiling up at him, his green eyes flashing in the dying firelight.

"I was about to kiss you goodnight…" Arnold said, leaning down to press lips to hers yet again, but this time, when they broke away, he steered her hand and hand back to the beach house where they fell asleep in each other's arms on Arnold's mattress.

Helga was woken up by a sudden chill, and when she groped around her for Arnold's arm, she was surprised to find it missing… she cracked open one eyelid and looked around the room, trying to get a gauge of the time, the clock on the wall said it was almost ten in the morning.

"Shit…" she hissed, trying to make herself get off the comfortable mattress.

"Morning sleepy head." Phoebe said form the doorway, sporting a rather obnoxious grin.

"Phoebe… why are you so happy?" she asked.

"Because it looks like you had a good night." She replied, not even trying to beat around the bush. "Can I ask you something?"

"As long as it doesn't take too much brain power." Helga replied, rolling over to face her friend.

"The ice cream… how did it taste?"

Helga thought about what she had just been asked, then remembered the old code word the two of them had used to describe her secret crush. Helga laughed when she finally figured out what her friend meant.

"Well?" Phoebe pressed, clearly wanting to know the answer.

"Let's just say that it melts in your mouth… not in your hand." Helga replied, blushing.

"I could say the same for you." Arnold said from the doorway, holding a tray with a plate of scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee.

"Arnold!" Helga exclaimed, sitting up in a flash, her face now a deep scarlet color.

"Sorry to interrupt you two ladies… but I thought you might want to get up before Eugene and Rhonda do… I heard from Lila that they wanted to wake us up with air horns this morning…" Arnold said, smiling at the girl he had spent the night with.

"Thanks for the heads up football head…" Helga said, standing up on the cold floor and walking over to give him a light kiss on the cheek, "I'm going to go get washed and dressed… save those for me when I come back down."

"Whatever you say Helga…" Arnold replied, looking into her ice blue eyes, sparkling in the morning light, "I'll wait downstairs."

Helga practically skipped down the hallway to the bathroom, her thoughts on nothing but the boy she had always wanted to be with. They were finally together…

_**A little clichéd I know… but I think it's cute. What do you think reader? I promise there will be plenty of drama later on in the story… but I think this is a nice way to kick off a new part of their lives.**_

_**The next chapter should be up tomorrow, until then…**_

_**Happy Living,**_

_**musicalreader**_


	14. Chapter 14

Twisted Paths

Part 14

_**Just to clarify a few points… I have been watching the review pages, and I know there are some parts that need improvement. First, I want to address the comment that the reaction was too sudden in chapter 11 when they got the call about Stella… to that, I just want to say that I am not a doctor, but I will try and look up the facts about recovery time if I write something like that again, so thank you for pointing that out. The reactions however, I felt were correct given how close to death she was up to that point. I know that when my grandfather was in the hospital with a slim chance of survival, every little thing was celebrated as soon as we heard about it. As for the way that Arnold and Helga reacted during chapter 13… I know I have a tendency to move a little too fast with dialogue and emotions, but I felt that since the characters in my mind's eye are a pair of subdued personalities (Helga's personality much less so) that a full confession would move them to act much faster than talking. After all, they've been yearning for each other at least subconsciously for years… that buildup doesn't need much of a trigger, and the aftermath was really just them being happy for their emotions being reciprocated. Sorry about this little disclaimer, but I had to get that off my chest, and this way everyone knows about it rather than PMing a few people. Now that that's out of the way, let's see how our characters doing…**_

Arnold walked into the kitchen and was greeted by Gerald.

"Fun night?" he asked sarcastically, raising a mug of coffee in a mock toast.

"Shut up Gerald…" Arnold mumbled, grinning, "At least Helga wasn't too wasted to have fun with last night."

"Actually… after we caught you two love birds on the beach, she was feeling a little frisky." He said, winking at Arnold, who groaned and asked if he had at least changed the sheets.

Gerald started laughing like a spy movie villain and wriggling his eyebrows like a patient in an insane asylum.

"So what did you guys do?" Gerald asked, after calming down and taking another sip of coffee. "Did you… you know… go all the way?"

"Not that it's any of your business Geraldo… but Arnold was a perfect gentleman." Helga said, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, her face lighting up when she saw Arnold leaning against the counter. "Morning football head…" she said, walking over and putting her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a quick kiss.

"Get a room you two…" Rhonda said, coming in the kitchen and holding her head, "And if anyone makes a loud noise, I swear, I will show them the color of their liver…"

Just as she made that particularly colorful threat, Eugene came leaping into the kitchen belting out _Keep Your Sunny Side Up_ from Eugene, Eugene.

"Oh my god! Can I kill him?" Rhonda asked, collapsing into a chair and reaching blindly for one of the cups of coffee that were on the table.

"I got dibs…" Harold said, entering and pulling the singing ginger into a headlock, "Is he like immune to hangovers?" he asked, looking around the room at his friends who couldn't help but laugh at the odd sight.

"Let him go now Harold… I think he gets the picture… and he might need to breathe…" Arnold cautioned, seeing that Eugene was getting blue in the face.

"I'm not immune to hangovers Harold…" Eugene said when he was finished gasping for air on the floor, "I'm just really happy in the mornings. Especially near the ocean… Anyone want to join me for a dip in the water?"

"That sounds wonderful." Phoebe said, having walked into the kitchen in a towel and her bikini, "I was just about to ask you all the same question…"

"Hey babe, I was just thinking about you." Gerald said, wrapping an arm around Phoebe's waist and pulling her in close to his side. He winked at Arnold, who only rolled his eyes and secured his grip around Helga.

"So what do you all think?" Eugene asked, looking around at the group, "Who's up for fun in the sand and surf?"

"As long as you stop acting so damn happy…" Harold muttered, shooting Eugene a dirty look and rubbing his temples.

"Okay then…" Arnold said, unofficially dismissing everyone to get changed for the beach.

About ten minutes later, everyone but Rhonda was changed and heading towards the shoreline. The boys were wearing pretty basic swim trunks, with the exception of Eugene, who apparently had taken a liking to speedos ever since they were nine and had performed synchronized swimming for the neighborhood.

"How come you don't wear one of those?" Helga asked, poking Arnold in the ribs and grinning.

"Because I wouldn't fit…" Arnold joked, looking Helga up and down, trying to keep his hormones in check… a difficult task when your new girlfriend insisted on wearing possibly the tightest bikini in existence and kept leaning forward to the point that you expected her to spill out of her top at any second.

"Hey! You two lovebirds!" Gerald called from the water, "Quit flirting on land, and just get wet already!"

"Some of us don't want to get stung by jellyfish!" Helga called out, making Gerald leap out of the water and look around frantically for any jellies.

"That was mean you know…" Arnold chided, laughing just the same.

"Seriously you guys!" Eugene yelled, "Get in here before we have to make you!"

"Alright ginger…don't get your panties in a knot!" Helga said loudly, running into the waves, the water leaving a sheen on her skin.

The rest of the morning was spent with the group body surfing, tipping the unsuspecting friend here and there, and of course, generally making idiots out of themselves. At about one in the afternoon, they all got out and went inside dripping wet and cold, but happy. Rhonda had put her free time to good use and they sat down to a lunch consisting mostly of finger sandwiches.

"I don't want to hear any complaints…" she said, when Harold started to whine about needing more to eat, "I'm not good at cooking… but finger foods I know backwards."

"Let me help you out Rhonda." Lila offered, pulling some ingredients out of the pantry and the refrigerator.

In another twenty minutes, which were killed by Arnold and Gerald arguing over which sport was actually the most dangerous, the group dug into a delicious soup. While everyone else ate, Rhonda went to get changed into her bikini from the day before, and once everyone was full, they went back out into the water.

"I got an idea…" Gerald said, eliciting groans from just about everyone.

"If this is another stupid truth or dare game Geraldo… I'll knock your teeth down your windpipe."

"No no, this game is fun for everyone I swear…" he promised, grinning like a lunatic, "You all know it… let's play chicken…"

That got a rise out of everyone, and they split up into teams. So that it wouldn't get awkward, Gerald paired up with Helga, and Arnold with Phoebe. Eugene got Lila, and Harold had Rhonda. When all the girls were on top of the guys shoulders, they waded towards each other, and a free for all broke out. Lila and Eugene were the first ones out, followed by Rhonda going backwards into the waves thanks to a well placed shove from Phoebe. Then the showdown began… Helga was definitely more aggressive, but years of kendo had trained Phoebe to look for weaknesses. Even so, Arnold found himself holding onto Phoebe's legs tighter and tighter to keep her from slipping off. Eventually, Helga lost her balance, and locked her legs instead of releasing, so she and Gerald both went under. When they sputtered to the surface.

"What ever happened to letting your girlfriend win?" she asked sarcastically.

"What can I say?" Arnold replied, grinning at her while she shook the hair out of her face, "You bring out the animal in me…"

"Whoa there you two…" Gerald warned, "Save it for someplace private please…"

"Shut it Gerald." Helga said, walking towards Arnold, "We've had to put up with you and Phoebe for years now…"

"Are you okay?" Arnold asked, lifting her chin up to face him when she was close enough.

"I am now…" she replied, her gaze dropping to his well defined chest, dripping with salt water that ran down his front in beads of moisture. God how she loved just looking at him…

"I'm glad." He said, leaning in and kissing her deeply, only stopping because Harold thought it would be funny to splash them.

After that, the boys started wrestling, and the girls just watched and placed bets. Harold beat everyone in the end by dunking all three at once with a bear hug.

As the light from the sun began to weaken, and dusk started to fall on the beach, everyone got out of the water and went inside to change. The party was officially over…

As everyone threw their stuff in their respective rides home, Arnold did his best to clean up the house some. He was whistling the theme from Come Back Wayne when he realized that he wasn't alone in the house. He turned around and saw Helga standing in the doorway, arms crossed and leaning against the threshold, trying not to laugh.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, giggling like crazy, "But every time I hear that song… I see you in a banana hammock. It's too much."

"The one time I wear something other than shorts or jeans…" Arnold muttered, chuckling at the memory of him and his friends swimming to a western song with cowboy hats.

"Hey, I sent Gerald home in Rhonda's car… I was wondering if I could catch a lift with you."

"No problem." He said, smiling, trying to concentrate on finishing the cleaning.

"Need help?" Helga offered, hugging him from behind, her hands trailing across his chest and down to his abs.

"Yeah… uhhh… there was something…" Arnold muttered, his mind now completely blank except for keeping track of what Helga's hands were doing.

_I can't believe I'm really doing this… _she thought to herself, _yesterday, this would have been a fantasy or a really good dream… man it's good to be me right now._

"If you finish soon… maybe we can go back to your place and have a little more fun than we did last night?" she whispered in his ear, sending a chill up his spine.

She let go of Arnold and let him get back to work, which he finished in record time thanks to her little bribe, and they left soon after. The Packard roared down the freeway with only the sound of the wind and MJAZZ on the radio. Helga called her house and told Miriam that she would be a little late coming home, not that it mattered, since Bob was out of town and her mom was probably busy making more "smoothies" for dinner.

They pulled up to Arnold's house just after sunset, and just as they were about to sneak upstairs, Stella poked her head around the corner…

"Helga! How are you sweetie?" she said, pulling her in for a hug, "Did you kids have fun at the beach?"

"Yeah mom… it was great… lots of fun." Arnold said, a little embarrassed by all the attention in front of Helga.

"Your son definitely had fun." Helga said, winking at Arnold.

"Oh? Care to share any details?" Stella asked, picking up on the hint and turning to her son.

"Not really… we were just about to go up to my room and listen to some music…" he lied, edging up the steps.

"Oh but you can't yet, dinner's about to start, and Helga, I want you to join us like normal." Stella insisted, pulling her son and Helga by the wrists into the dining room where they were made to sit.

"Man… looks like we'll have to wait for a bit." Helga said, squeezing Arnolds knee under the table.

"And how are you doing Helga?" Ernie asked, the only boarder to still be there from when she was in middle school.

"Doing fine Ernie," she replied politely, "Just got back from the beach, lost a chicken fight… the usual."

"That's cool. You know kids, I remember when I was your age… I got into so much trouble during the summer…"

"Please don't start with another one of your stories Ernie…" Ms. Paige said from across the table, "It's bad enough I have to listen to your awful taste in music, and smell the construction site on you when you come home in the evenings… please don't pollute my ears with your vulgar tales."

"Hey, stuff a sock in it ya book pushing harpy." Ernie retorted, never getting along with the old librarian who had taken Mr. Hyunh's place when he moved out.

The Kakoshka's had also moved out some years ago, and their room had only recently been rented out by a couple who were a little older than Arnold's parents. The Roberts however, rarely joined the table at dinner time, but they were nice people nonetheless. Mr. Roberts had even gone with the Shortman men on a camping trip one time, and they found out that he was a retired special forces operative.

Dinner went smoothly, if you didn't count the barbs Ernie and Ms. Paige exchanged over what constituted literature.

"I'm telling ya, if it has words, and a cover, it's a book!" Ernie said, standing up in his seat, not that it did much for his height… but whatever.

"And I'm telling you that if it were a book, it would have a copy under my care. And last time I checked, _Demolition Daily_ was NOT in my care…" she retorted, looking down her nose at the construction worker and fixing him with her best librarian stare.

"I say!" Gertie said, coming out of the kitchen with a refilled bowl of peas, "If we're going to discuss art, let me go get my friend Michelangelo from upstairs, he's been dying for a good discussion ever since the war of 1812!"

"You do that Pookie… but leave Benedict Arnold where he is…" Phil piped in, knowing full well that his wife would come back downstairs with a paintbrush and a beret and start rattling off Italian words until everyone had left or she got bored.

"Why don't you kids go upstairs if you're finished…" Miles said, nudging his son, trying to spare him the fireworks that would undoubtedly fly in a few minutes.

"Thanks dad…" Arnold murmured out of the side of his mouth. He grabbed Helga's hand and led her up to his room, which had been remodeled slightly when he started High School.

"Wow… been awhile since you let me up here…" Helga commented, looking around.

"Yeah… that was mostly because it was never really clean." Arnold said, scratching the back of his head as Helga began to inspect the new additions to his already pretty awesome room.

In addition to a fold out couch, Arnold had upgraded his computer a couple times, installed some new track lights, and gotten a new stereo system with speakers bolted to the walls. Then there was the addition of a decent size T.V across from the couch, a gift from his parents when he turned 17 and his dad gave him a collection of old school R-rated movies. And to top it all off, there was still his universal remote and remote control blinds for the skylight.

"I didn't think you could make your room any cooler football head." Helga joked, inspecting the new stereo system.

"Well… most of it came from my parents. They said I needed some new stuff since everything else was outdated." Arnold explained, sitting on the couch.

"Is this what I think it is?" Helga exclaimed, having reached the small stack of DVD's next to his TV.

"Depends, what do you see?" Arnold asked, craning his neck to check out what had surprised her.

Helga spun around and held up Mel Brooks' _Robin Hood, Men in Tights_, a huge grin plastered to her face. "Can we watch this now?" she asked.

Even though he was confused by her sudden change of moods, Arnold nodded and started the movie. He sat on the couch, and just as he was about to put his arm around her shoulders, Helga reclined, putting her head in his lap.

"Comfortable?" he asked sarcastically, holding her hand and resting them both on her stomach.

"Mmmmm… very." She said softly, before turning her attention to the movie onscreen.

Arnold sighed and just went with it. After all, it wasn't like they didn't have time to have fun later. Halfway through the movie, the day at the beach and dinner caught up to them both and they fell asleep quietly, the musical number "We're men, men in tights" playing a lullaby as Arnold shifted his position in the couch and they fell asleep reclining on the seat, his arms wrapped around her waist and her hands intertwined with his.

As the credits rolled, Helga was snoring softly and Arnold was breathing in the sweet smell her hair gave off, both completely unaware of the world around them. Stella cracked open the door to tell them that it was after midnight, but when she saw them both asleep, she just smiled and closed the door quietly behind her.

"Finally…" she chuckled to herself, walking down the stairs.

_**Well… that was a rather short chapter, but I hope that you all enjoyed it. again, sorry about the possibly rude announcement earlier. Hope that it didn't drive you away… the next update will be tomorrow evening… or morning… depending on where you are. Just to let everyone know, even though I am showing the characters as rather physical at this point, they'll calm down soon, and no, for those of you hoping for an M rating anytime soon, that particular even will not be for some time yet.**_

_**Until next time,**_

_**musicalreader**_


	15. Chapter 15 part 1

Twisted Paths

Part 15

Daylight broke over the city of Hillwood. In an attic room over a red brick boarding house, a beam of sunlight played across one Helga Pataki's face, warming it just enough to stir her from her sleep.

The first thing she noticed was that her back was exceptionally warm, and her waist felt like it had a heavy belt around it. Helga picked up her head and looked down, remembering what had happened the night before. She could make out Arnold's gentle breathing on her neck, and as much as she wanted to nuzzle closer and drift back to sleep in his arms, she had to get going. She slipped out quietly, leaving note on Arnold's door for him to meet her at the boardwalk at 6, and she padded her way downstairs. As she was about to leave, Stella, who was sitting in the kitchen sipping from a cup of coffee, called her in to sit down for a bit.

"I'd love to Mrs. Shortman… but I need to get home soon before my mom sobers up and freaks out…" Helga replied, trying to sidestep the awkward conversation that was sure to follow.

"Relax Helga," Stella said warmly, smiling, "I just want to get a few ground rules down… First of all, I saw you two sleeping on the couch last night."

"Crap… I swear, we didn't do anything inappropriate." Helga said, trying hard not to blush, "We just fell asleep like that…"

"I know. But I want to remind you, that if you two are going to date, please be careful." Stella said, laughing at Helga getting flustered, "I'm too young to be a grandmother, just remember that."

Helga was a deep color of rose and approaching purple when Stella finished that sentence, but she nodded and started to leave, hoping that the conversation was over.

"Oh and Helga… please don't sleep over again unless you ask Miles or me first okay?" she instructed, waving the blushing girl out of the door and laughing.

Helga practically sprinted home, not really in a hurry, but running made her feel grounded. She was still on cloud nine from the night before, and she was certain that her day was going to get even better…

Arnold woke up and groped around in front of him, hoping to find that Helga was still curled up next to him… but she was gone. He sat up on the couch and looked around his room, everything still slightly blurry, and managed to stumble his way downstairs to the kitchen to get some food. He walked in to find his mom and dad laughing to themselves and looking at a piece of paper.

"What's up?" he asked, pulling a carton of OJ out of the fridge.

"Just having a laugh over this note…" Miles said, looking at his son with one eyebrow raised.

"What note?" Arnold asked, trying to get a better look at the piece of paper.

"The one your father found when he went to wake you up a few minutes ago. He thought it was so funny he forgot to get you up." Stella said, smiling softly and refilling her coffee mug.

"It looks like you're the girl in the relationship." Miles joked, "And you just got asked out for tonight."

Arnold looked at his parents like they were crazy until they held the note out for him to read and he saw that Helga hadn't asked, so much as told him where to go that night.

"You guys are almost as crazy as grandma and grandpa you know…" he muttered, storming off to get washed and dressed, while behind him his parents were still laughing.

"We'll make sure to let you know when your boyfriend gets here!" Miles said, calling out one last joke at his son's expense.

After he was dressed, Arnold made his way to Gerald's house, hoping that he was home and was in a mood to give out some advice. Luckily, he was home and was willing to help Arnold out with his first real date…

"Now the first thing you got to know, is the type of girl you're dating." Gerald began, pacing in front of Arnold like he was a general at a war conference.

"I already know Helga though…" Arnold started to say, but was cut off.

"No man… you _think_ you know her… but it takes time and concentration to know a girl… what you need to do tonight, is get to know her like never before." Gerald said, only getting a glazed look in return. "Are you paying attention?"

"Yeah… totally paying attention… what did you say again?" Arnold replied.

"Man… look, there's not much I can teach you for your date tonight, except maybe what to wear and how to act… the rest of the time, just do your best to notice all the little things. You're good at that."

"Okay… so what should I wear then?" Arnold asked, trying to get to the heart of the matter.

"For you… Helga seems to like you just like you are right? Well, all you got to do is find an outfit that will show off who you really are. Forget the nice outfit, you're going to the boardwalk, but don't wear swim trunks either… just wear what you normally do, but make it neat."

"Has anyone ever told you that you make no sense when you elaborate?"

"A few people" Gerald replied, smirking, "But the important thing to remember, is how you act around her. I've watched Helga pick on you for years… and I noticed that the times she acted the meanest, is when you acted the nicest… I think that she likes you more than usual when you put on the good boy routine, so try that."

"And you think that's all I have to do?" Arnold asked, a little confused still, "Wear my usual gear, but nicer, and act like a goodie goodie?"

"Exactly man, I think if you act like the good old American boy next door, you'll be gold." Gerald responded, grinning at his own brilliance.

"If this doesn't work, I'm gonna kick your ass you know that right?" Arnold said, punching his friend playfully in the shoulder.

"If it doesn't work, I'll kick my own ass."

The two boys spent the rest of the day talking about opening lines for conversations, ways to act gallant and make it look natural, and when it was okay to let Helga win at the games. After what seemed like an hour, but was actually the majority of the day, Arnold ran home to shower and change. He took extra care not to go overboard with the deodorant, and made sure that he at least picked out a top shirt that wasn't completely wrinkled. He then borrowed the Packard and drove down to the boardwalk with barely five minutes to spare, and there he waited…

_**Sorry about the delay readers, I forgot that I was supposed to pack for school and have spent the last few days with my attention split. This chapter is split into two parts mostly to avoid confusion with the timeline, and the second part will be posted with this one to avoid any further frustration regarding time delay in the production of each chapter. The updates overall will most likely become less frequent than the one chapter a day promise I made, this does not mean I am losing interest, I am just enjoying a new thing for me, a social life, at my new home at ECU.**_

_**GO PIRATES!**_

_**Happy Living,**_

_**musicalreader**_


	16. Chapter 15 part 2

Twisted Paths

Part 15.2

Helga ran home as fast as she could after leaving Arnold's house. She wasn't anxious to leave per se, but the excitement of the last few days had come to a head and she needed to collect her thoughts. Stella's little _talk_ hadn't helped her at all either… luckily, by the time she got back to her house, Bob was out and Miriam was already crashed on the couch. She made it to her room without any problem, and grabbed a pink book she hadn't opened in over a year before flopping down onto her bed and diving back into old memories and dreams…

She stayed on her bed reading her old diary for what felt like minutes, but before she knew it, the grandfather clock in the hall was chiming noon. She had just finished reading a poem she wrote sometime around the summer before sixth grade, and closed the book to stretch.

"Helga?" Miriam called from downstairs, "Are you awake yet?"

"Great…" Helga muttered to herself, "They didn't even notice I wasn't home last night…"

"Helga?" Miriam called again, her voice getting closer as she climbed the stairs.

"Yeah Mom!" Helga answered, "I've been up for awhile now."

"Okay, well, your father is out of town tonight and tomorrow, so what would you like to do for dinner?" she asked, opening her daughter's door and looking inside.

"Actually mom, I have plans tonight, so if you want, I'll throw something together for you before I leave." Helga offered, knowing full well that her mom was hopeless in the kitchen. If it weren't for the occasional visits from her sister, she wouldn't be much better…

"Awwww, thanks sweetie… but I think I'll just order something in when I get hungry…" Miriam said, smiling faintly, "So who are you going to be with tonight? Is it that blonde boy you have the crush on?"

"How did you know I had a crush on Arnold?" Helga asked, now genuinely surprised by her mothers' sudden insight.

"Sweetie… I can't tell you the number of times I've found those poetry books of yours lying around the house. So are you two going out tonight?"

"Uhhh… yes actually… we finally had a talk, and I guess we're going out now…" Helga answered dumbly.

"That's good, but you better start getting ready sweetie, it's almost two in the afternoon, and you want to look your best right?" Miriam suggested, further surprising her daughter with the sudden motherly action.

"Uhhh… yeah, I guess so… well, I need some privacy now mom…" Helga said, trying to sound casual, while mentally freaking out at the upcoming date, even though she had set it…

"Okay then Helga… I'll be downstairs if you need me." Miriam offered, closing the door behind her.

After getting over the initial shock of her mom's sudden change in character, Helga went to her closet and tried to find something cute to wear that wasn't too over the top. She eventually settled on a jean skirt and an old concert tee-shirt from when U2 had come through their city on a tour before jumping in the shower to freshen up. As the water ran over her skin, she became aware of the lingering scent Arnold had left as they cuddled throughout the night. He smelled like gum and a subtle hint of sweat that reminded her of his strong toned body… Unfortunately, the heavenly memory of seeing Arnold without his shirt on was dimmed as his scent washed down the drain. Helga sighed and worked the fruit scented body wash over her pale skin, imagining that they were Arnold's hands running up and down her sides and front…

A small blush spread across her chest, and Helga was certain that face was looking flushed, but she had to stop her hormones before they got the best of her and she lost track of time... So she turned on the cold water and when she had settled down, she stepped out and toweled off. She stood in front of the mirror blow drying her hair and brushing it out until the warm locks fell over her shoulders and shimmer slightly in the light. On any other day, she would have curled it to add some character, but she decided that that would be a little too much to do for a date at the boardwalk.

Helga dressed in record time when she saw that the clock read half past five, and went downstairs to ask Miriam if she needed anything before she left for her date.

"I'm fine honey," Miriam replied, flipping through the channels on the TV and munching her way through a bag of pretzels. "Just promise me you'll take it slow with Arnie, and if you two get too crazy, make sure he's using protection…"

"MOM!" Helga said, blushing, "I know about that stuff… please don't talk to me about it…"

"I know it's embarrassing, but trust me Helga, someone needs to talk to you about this stuff, and would you rather it be me or Bob?" Miriam said, muting the TV and turning to face her daughter.

Helga's face was now roughly the same shade as a tomato, and she was mentally running through a scenario where Big Bob tried to discuss sex with her… "I'd like to talk to you about that stuff… but after I get home tonight okay?" she finally said, "Otherwise, I'll be late for our date."

"Alright Helga… just don't do anything too crazy okay?" Miriam cautioned, turning the sound back on and facing the screen.

"Alright mom, see you later." She responded, practically running out the front door and not slowing down until she was at least a block away from her house.

The air was warm outside, and the sun was edging closer to the city skyline in the distance, casting unreal shadows that turned everything and everyone into pieces of a surrealism painting. The walk down the street was peaceful, and Helga reveled in the sounds and sights of another summer coming to a close. She thought back to the years spent in the company of her friends and neighbors playing games in the abandoned lot, swimming in the community pool, and of course all the crazy things that seemed to happen to them whenever a festival came around. A group of fourth graders were playing cards on a stoop near Greene's Meats, and Helga was able to pick out a brown haired girl who was hitting one of the boys in the back of the head with bits of paper.

"Heheheh… good luck with that approach sweetie…" Helga laughed to herself, "Try being nice to him sometime and see how that goes…"

The rest of her walk to the boardwalk was uneventful, the only interesting thing being a middle school student popping open a fire hydrant and drenching almost everything within twenty yards. Finally, she arrived at the old wooden pier that marked the entrance to the city's boardwalk, open for one last weekend before closing until the next summer. She looked around for a familiar head of hair and panicked when she couldn't find Arnold in the sparse crowd, but a voice from directly behind almost made her jump out of her skin…

Arnold noticed her as soon as she set foot on the pier, but he could tell that she was looking for him.

"Time for some fun…" he muttered, to himself, trying not to grin too wide as he walked quietly up behind her and tapped her shoulder lightly saying, "Hey there beautiful."

Her whole body twitched and she gasped, spinning around and lifting her arm up ready to punch whatever creep was stupid enough to mess with her. Arnold put his hands up in surrender and tried not to laugh too hard as she calmed down and the look in her eyes turned from murderous to calm, then back to anger when she realized he had meant to scare her.

"Football head… If I didn't want to have such a good night, I'd beat you to a pulp right now…" she said, glaring and crossing her arms over her chest.

"You know something Pataki, as long as I've known you, you never follow through on your threats… besides, you have to admit, that was pretty funny." He responded, grinning and pulling her into a hug. After a few seconds, she relaxed and wrapped her arms around his chest. There they stood, at peace in each other's arms, for who knows how long, but finally, they began to realize that people were staring, and Helga pushed him away for some distance.

"Calm down there lover boy, there's going to be plenty of time for physical stuff… for now, let's just enjoy tonight on the pier huh?" Helga said, winking at him and walking away, leaving Arnold to scramble after her as she led him to the game booths.

Their first stop was the Milk Bottle Toss. Helga remembered clearly how good Arnold used to be at the game, and she wanted to see if he could win at a game where she hadn't messed with the bottles. Sure enough, one throw yielded all six milk bottles littering the ground.

"Nice shooting Tex." Helga commented, reminding him momentarily of his grandmother.

"Thanks, now pick out your prize." He answered sarcastically, indicating the shelf of cheap little toys.

Helga picked out a stuffed toy version of her favorite wrestler, and they made their way to the arcade next as the sun sank lower into the horizon and the night sky peeked out from the clouds.

As they walked, Arnold was struck by just how beautiful Helga looked with almost no effort… Her pale skin was as smooth as cream, and her hair fell around her shoulders and down her back with a glimmer in the blonde locks that looked as if the sun itself were woven in. Arnold caught a glimpse of her eyes, an icy blue that could have frozen him in his steps if she wanted to, and felt his heart rate speed up and his face flush. This subtle change didn't escape her gaze, and she turned to look at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, trying not to laugh at the odd look on her dates face.

"N-nothing…" He stammered, trying to look away without being too obvious and failing utterly.

"Uh huh… look me in the eyes and say that…" Helga challenged, stopping on a dime and placing her hands on either side of his face so he was looking down into her cool gaze.

"Not really helping." Arnold remarked, blushing again and smiling broadly, putting his hands on hers and pulling them away from his cheeks before pulling her close and pressing their lips together in one fluid movement.

"Whoa there little boy… Don't go getting carried away now…" Helga gasped, pushing Arnold away and trying to get some space before she lost herself in his arms.

"Little?" Arnold replied, raising an eyebrow, "I think I'm almost a foot taller than you…

"Yeah, but I can still pound you." she said, shaking her fist and grinning.

"I don't think I'd mind that to be honest…" he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear, and just enough implied to make her blush.

"You're such a guy." Helga said, partially joking, but hitting his shoulder anyway.

"Are you two gonna keep flirting or are you in line?" a man asked from behind them, pointing over their heads at the sign indicating the entrance to the roller coaster that they were blocking.

"Sorry about that sir…" Arnold said, blushing and putting some space between Helga and himself to let the man through.

"Yeah… sure you are…" he said, walking between them and rolling his eyes as he passed.

"Want to go on this one then?" Helga suggested, unconsciously glad that the stranger had broken them apart before they got carried away.

"Looks like it could be fun." Arnold admitted, "But uh… can we find one a bit smaller?"

"Smaller? This is the smallest roller coaster I've ever seen." Helga remarked, taking note of how her date's face turned paler than usual looking up at the tallest crest of the ride, a mere seventy feet overhead.

"Are you sure it's the smallest?" Arnold asked, "It seems kind of high up to me…"

"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights." Helga said, trying not to laugh when he blushed at the accusation, "Oh my god… Arnold Shortman… you braved a jungle temple when you were in the fifth grade, drove a bus over a collapsed bridge, rappelled down a skyscraper, and who knows what else… and you're scared of roller coasters?"

"Blame Eugene…" he muttered, "The last time I was on a rollercoaster I was stuck at the top for an entire day…"

"Well I'm not Eugene, and I say you're going on the ride with me." Helga said, grinning cruelly as she grabbed his wrist and forced Arnold to follow her to the nearest open car.

Arnold let her drag him along, but that didn't mean that he was okay with the idea of going on the ride. His hands started shaking slightly as the car they were in started clicking its way up the tracks, and it was all he could do not to scream like a five year old girl when they reached the top of the crest and stopped. Luckily for him, they didn't stop for long, and Helga was there screaming away as they zoomed down the hill almost heading straight for the ground before pulling out of the dive and twisting around in a loop that had their faces almost peeling off with the sheer force of the turns. Each sudden drop and unexpected turn forced another yell from Arnold, while Helga took each change in stride, laughing the whole time and cackling with glee. After what felt like forever, the ride stopped and Arnold got off and hugged nearest telephone pole as the sun set on the horizon.

"Jesus football head…" Helga muttered, suppressing a grin watching his over dramatic reaction, "Remind me to bring a camera next time we ride something like this."

"Not going to ride something like that… never again…" Arnold said, standing shakily and trying to repress the urge to hug the pole again, "I can still feel the ground moving."

"No you can't." she said, crossing her arms and laughing, "Now it's your turn to choose something for us to do."

"Hmmm… How about we try that ride?" He suggested, pointing at a ramshackle amalgamation of steel and lights. When Helga looked closer, she saw that it was actually a tilt-a-whirl ride hat hadn't been refurbished in years.

"I don't know about that Arnold…" She said hesitantly, looking at the ride and only getting more and more worried as she saw more things wrong with the whole setup.

"You can't back out of this one Pataki." Arnold said smugly, "I had to go on the roller coaster."

"Fine… But I'm not letting this go as easily as you did Shortman…" Helga responded, glaring up at her boyfriend and shuffling forward unwillingly, climbing the rusted steps and strapping into the dilapidated harness. The only reason she wasn't already having a panic attack was because Arnold was right next to her as the ride started up and they were slowly pushed closer. The force of the ride eventually got to the point that they would have looked right at home in a skydiving class, and Helga could feel her insides actually shift to one side as they were spun around and around, their section even leaning over the water at one point. Finally, the ride slowed down with only a minor creaking of the gears and the ride groaning only slightly as she jumped from the top step onto sweet, sweet ground.

"Are you going to be alright there Helga?" Arnold asked gently, trying not to laugh too much as he watched his girlfriend practically lick the wooden floor of the boardwalk.

"No thanks to you Football head…" she said uneasily, "But I think that was enough fun for one night…"

Sure enough, the sky had turned an dark blue, and the lights were coming on along the streets as the stars peeked out from the heavens. Even the vendors were shutting down their shacks for the night.

"No way is it that late." Arnold said, looking at his watch, amazed when he read that it was almost ten. "Or maybe it is…"

"I'll let you walk me home if you want." She offered, as if it were the best reward in the world.

"I wouldn't dream of making a lady walk by herself." Arnold replied, only slightly sarcastically.

"Lady or not, I can still kick your ass…" she muttered, smiling at the same time and looping his arm in hers as they walked down the darkened streets of the city towards her house.

They walked in almost total silence, the sounds of the busy metropolis around them providing the soundtrack to their private counsel within their own minds. Helga was thinking of the joy she felt in Arnold's arms earlier, while at the same time questioning if she was moving too fast. Arnold, for his part, was merely trying to review the evening and see if he had made any serious blunders… Their thoughts carried them all the way to Helga's front door in what felt like a minute.

"I guess this is goodnight then…" Helga said quietly, looking at her shoes, completely aware of just how stereotypical she was acting, while at the same time not caring.

"Yeah…" Arnold agreed, unsure of what to do next, "I hope you had fun."

"Yeah… I had a blast…" she replied, stepping a bit closer and looking up into those deep sapphire gems that used to hold so much pain.

"Well, goodnight then." He said, scratching the back of his head and holding out his hand, as if they had just finished a business meeting.

"You dork." Helga said, laughing and glaring at the same time, before swatting his hand away and wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss.

Arnold was caught off guard, but quickly relaxed into the show of affection and wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes and losing his every sense in the feel of her soft lips.

Suddenly, the porch light clicked on and the front door swung open. Startled, the two love birds jumped apart and did their best to look innocent.

"Nice try you two." Bob said gruffly, glaring at Arnold, "Helga, get in the house."

"Can I finish saying goodnight?" Helga asked, barely registering the fact that he had managed to get her name right.

"You already did. Now get in the house, I want to have a word with this one…" he said, a slight implied threat in his voice killing any remnants of a good mood.

Helga muttered to herself as she trudged up the steps, turning at the last second to wave at Arnold before Bob closed the door and shut her off for the night. She tried to put her ear to the door and listen to what was being said between her dad and her boyfriend, but that plan was quickly ended when Bob slammed his hand against the door and almost rattled her teeth out of her head.

"Hmmph, fine then…" she muttered, walking up the steps to her room, "I'll let you two have your _little talk_…"

Even though she was upstairs and there were several walls in the way, Helga still found herself straining to hear anything that would give her a clue as to what was going on outside. Finally, she heard the front door slam shut as Bob came stomping back inside, and she gave up. She began to change into an old gray t-shirt and some shorts for the night, but jumped in surprise when she heard a tapping at her window.

"What the fuck?" Helga muttered, walking over to the windowsill and looking through the glass. Her heart almost stopped for a second when she saw an all too familiar face grinning at her from one of the branches on the tree outside.

"What are you doing Arnold?" she hissed, throwing the window open and leaning out.

"I just wanted to say goodnight properly." He answered, taking care to keep his voice down.

"Well you just did genius." Helga retorted, trying to hide the goofy grin creeping across her face. "And what did my dad talk to you about?"

"He just wanted me to know that if I knocked you up that he'd come after me with a few explosives." Arnold said, shrugging, "I think it's just something every dad says to his daughter's dates."

Helga blushed a little, then sobered up and realized she was having a conversation with a boy in a tree, "Just get out of here before you get in trouble with the neighbors football head…"

"Got it Helga, goodnight, and by the way… cute undies." He said, winking and dropping out of the tree and making his way down the darkened street.

Helga couldn't decide what to do first, blush, or throw something at him for spying… but she settled for slamming the window shut and chuckling to herself.

"I go years without admitting my feelings for him, then over a weekend I end up sleeping with him twice and having him spy on me through my window… way to go Pataki…" she chided herself, pacing around her room and thinking back on how quickly everything had happened. Was this what she really wanted?

"Of course I want this…" she answered herself, "I always dreamed we'd be going out…"

The little voice in her head chimed in, _What if he doesn't really feel that way about you? What if he's just in it to get laid?_

"Arnold wouldn't do that…" she told herself.

_But what if he did? Could you handle the pain? Could you handle the feeling of being used and tainted? Of having given everything of yourself to another, exposed your most vulnerable side, and being crushed?_

"I don't care… Arnold isn't that kind of person. And I think I'm finally happy…" Helga said, looking at her old diary, still lying on her bed, the pages opened to the last poem she wrote, almost two years ago…

I watch the grey green  
>waves roll by,<br>beneath my lost,  
>and wandering eye.<p>

They seem to move  
>with a graceful dance,<br>that it hardly even  
>feels like chance;<p>

That they should break  
>upon the sound,<br>of my lonely silence,  
>simple yet profound.<p>

For I am one who,  
>by my life,<br>and all my suffering,  
>my strife;<p>

Has made great names  
>for mine own self,<br>yet the one I seek  
>eludes my shelf.<p>

This title goes by many names,  
>though each it's own, they mean the same.<p>

Loved, Beloved,  
>Venus true,<br>Dear One, Lover,  
>my heart to you.<p>

The one I want to be,  
>amongst the crashing sea…<br>Eludes me to this day,  
>and so it is I pray,<p>

That I may find someone,  
>someway,<br>to be with 'til  
>my final day.<p>

I pray that you might hear my call,  
>and someday end this dreadful pall.<br>Our hearts be joined by fate,  
>But till then I will wait.<p>

_**Okay… First off, please read this all the way through. Second, I humbly apologize for not updating in months. Fall semester in college is a lot more hectic than I thought, and I've been writing and rewriting this chapter for weeks. I know it was an odd place to leave off, but I promise, the rest of the story is still on its way. Please let me know how I did, give me your opinions on anything in the story, let me know if you even noticed the huge delay, I just need some feedback. On a semi-related note, did you at least like the poem?**_

_**Until next time (hopefully sooner)**_

_**musicalreader**_


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